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P 10 | FOOTBALL
PRIDE OF PLAcE!
P 25 | BASKETBALL
cHAMPIONS AGAIN
Qatar may once again have representation
in the FIFA ExCom as it is likely to field a
candidate in next year’s elections.
Qatar defeat Bahrain in their last
round-robin match and retain the
Gulf title with an unbeaten record.
WEDNESDAY, OctObER 22, 2014 | Vol IX | No.38 | QR2.00
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Qatari boys underline their potential to make it really big by
qualifying for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup. PAGES 4-5
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www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
OPINION
» The writer can be contacted at:
Editor-in-Chief
Managing Editor
Dr Ahmed Al Mohannadi
[email protected]
Kumar Ravi
Senior Editor/Writer
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Senior Sports Writer
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Promising youngsters must
get sufficient playing time
O
Ur young footballers did the country proud by
storming into the final of the Asian Under-19
championship in Myanmar. It’s after a gap of 34
years, and only for the second time, that we’re in the
title clash of this tournament.
It was in 1980 that our team first figured in the final,
finishing runners-up to South Korea, and then they
went on to finish second at the World cup in Australia
as well.
We figured in the Under-20 World cup for a second
time (in ’95), by virtue of being the hosts, but couldn’t
progress past the group stage.
As everybody who’s somebody in Qatar football
competes with each other to take credit of the current
team’s good showing, I’m reminded of an old saying —
‘success has many fathers, failure is an orphan’.
the Qatar Football Association (QFA) is the authorised
body to develop the game in the country and, as such,
it’s entitled to take some credit, but it’s mainly the
collaboration with the ASPIrE Academy that has reaped
the dividends.
Most of the players are products of the academy
whose strategic planning and talent development
schemes, including creating opportunities to play in
Europe through its own belgian club KAS Eupen, have
helped the team do well.
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So far so good! We’ve to realise that the Myanmar
show isn’t the end of a project, instead it’s the
beginning. this bunch of players will form the nucleus
of our ’22 World cup team. Most of them will be under
27 then and if they’ve to be at their peak, we need to
nurture them carefully.
Even for the U-20 World cup in New Zealand, we
need to have a clear plan. From now on until May, ’15,
how’re we going to support these players?
It’s here that the QFA has a decisive role to play. I
don’t think, barring Serigine Abdou who represents Al
Khor, any other player figures in the Qatar Stars League.
Promising youngsters like Akram Afif and others should
be guaranteed sufficient playing time in the league. top
clubs in the country may be eager to sign them, but
they shouldn’t be allowed to let the players warm the
benches.
Otherwise, like what happened in the past, our
achievement will yet again go down as a flash in the
pan.
Dr Ahmed Al Mohannadi
Editor-in-chief
© Stories and photographs appearing in this publication may not be reproduced
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INSIDE
P 6 | FOOTBALL
P 26 | MOTORSPORT
P 30 | TENNIS
Muntari the hero
Sons of speed!
Marauding Murray!
Mohammed Muntari nets two
goals in three minutes to hand
El Jaish a hard-earned win
over Qatar Sports club in the
Qatar Stars League.
Mathias Lauda and Freddie Hunt
bring back memories of the
legendary battle between their
fathers Niki and James.
Andy Murray wins the Vienna
Open and takes a big step
towards qualifying for the AtP
World tour Finals in London.
P 28 | CRICKET
P 29 | SHOOTING
Big opportunity
for Qatari colts
Masoud, Nawal
reign supreme
Qatar have the chance to match
their wits with some of the best
teams in the region at the Asian
cricket council’s Under-16
Elite tournament.
Masoud Hamad Al Athba and
Nawal Al Khalaf reign supreme
in the men’s and women’s
trap event respectively at the
Association cup.
4
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
PICK OF THE WEEK
COVER STORY
CLASSY
COLTS
QATARI BOYS UNDERLINE THEIR POTENTIAL TO MAKE IT REALLY BIG BY QUALIFYING
FOR THE FIFA UNDER-20 WORLD CUP, WRITES N GANESH.
A
NY World cup qualification
is rewarding in itself and
the feat assumes added
significance if it is made after a
very long gap. but what Qatar’s
Under-19 boys have achieved
in Myanmar acquires more
dimensions when perceived
against the backdrop of the 2022
showpiece event, which the
country will host.
Qatar have entered the AFc
Under-19 championship final and
sealed a berth at the Under-20
World cup, to be played in
New Zealand from May
30 to June 20, 2015.
they had qualified
ŠšQatar’s Akram
Afif shoots at the
goal during their
AFc Under-19
tournament
quarterfinal
against china.
for the World cup by reaching the
semifinal, where they quelled the
challenge of a spirited Myanmar
last Monday.
Qatar scripted a deserving comefrom-behind 3-2 extra-time victory
after the regulation time ended
2-2. It was proof of their high
fitness level, mental toughness and
character.
When they take on North Korea
in thursday’s final, Qatar have the
psychological advantage, having
beaten them in the group stage.
It was another comeback
win, by a 3-1 margin.
It is after a gap of 34
years that Qatar will be
playing in the title clash of the
tournament. back then, in 1980,
they finished runners-up to South
Korea and in the subsequent World
Youth championship in Australia,
they finished runners-up to West
Germany.
they also played at the ’95
edition, by virtue of being hosts,
but could not get beyond the
preliminary stage.
the latest achievement has
much relevance as the current
group of players will form the
nucleus of the Qatar team at the
’22 World cup. It will also boost
Qatar’s confidence of staging a
THE ONUS IS ON THE
QFA TO ENSURE THE
PLAYERS DEVELOP IN
THE RIGHT WAY.
successful World cup. For any
edition, a good performance by
the host nation is crucial and the
boys’ good show should delight the
Supreme committee for Delivery
and Legacy, for Qatar’s low ranking
has been a tool for critics.
the Myanmar show was the
sort of response Qatar football
was desperate to make. For,
despite getting all pieces together,
the on-field performance has been
the one that always missed in its
jigsaw.
“I congratulate the players
who’ve brought such delight to the
fans in Qatar,” said Qatar Football
Association (QFA) President Sheikh
Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al
thani. “Qatar football is improving
in a major way and I’m confident
we’ll have a strong team at the ’22
World cup.”
the ASPIrE Academy has played
a major role in the development of
the players and can take due credit.
the boys also benefited from the
foreign camps, during which they
played against teams with different
styles.
Spanish coach Felix
Sanchez has been
successful in getting
the best out of them by
adopting a style mostly
based on possession and
short passing game.
the tournament also proved
that a number of players in the
Under-19 squad, be it Ahmed Al
Sadi, who has scored five goals so
far, or the skilful Akram Afif, are
good enough to make it to the
starting line-ups of some of the
Qatari clubs.
Now, the onus is on the QFA to
ensure the players develop in the
right way. Its decision to dilute
the foreign flavour to churn out
more local players in the domestic
league undoubtedly reflected on
the convincing recent performances
of senior and Olympic teams.
the colts need more attention,
obviously due to the World cup.
For the home nation, there cannot
be a better legacy than creating a
world-beating team.
» The writer can be contacted at:
[email protected]
ššQatar’s Ali
Al Moez and
Myanmar’s thiha
Htet Aung fight for
possession.
QATAR’S
PATH TO
FINAL
GROUP STAGE
bt North Korea 3-1
Drew Iraq
1-1
bt Oman
2-0
QUARTERFINAL
bt china
4-2
SEMIFINAL
bt Myanmar 3-2
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
‘Our boys have
been amazing’
Q
AtAr Football Association
(QFA) President Sheikh
Hamad bin Khalifa bin
Ahmed Al Thani congratulated
the country’s Under-19 boys on
their qualification for the
World cup.
“Our boys have been
amazing so far in the
Myanmar tournament.
their qualification for
the U-20 World cup is
quite fantastic. On this
occasion, I thank the
great support of the Emir
HH Sheikh tamim bin
Hamad Al thani,” said
Sheikh Hamad.
“the support of HH Sheikh
Jassem bin Hamad Al thani,
Personal representative of HH
the Emir, has also been very
important.
“I hope our boys perform to
their potential in thursday’s final
against North Korea and bring
more joy to the fans in Qatar,” he
added.
Brilliant, says
Al Mohannadi
Q
QATARI GREATS SPEAK
“Qualifying for
the World
cup is a
creditable
achievement.
but it should
be seen as the beginning
of the journey. the players
must work harder because
the overall standard of the
tournament will be much
higher.
“History is
repeating
itself. What
our young
boys have
achieved is
commendable and, like
everyone, I too appreciate
their job. the players
must stay grounded and
keep their focus on the
forthcoming tournament.
Ibrahim Khalfan.
Khalid Salman.
Ibrahim Khalfan and Khalid Salman were part of Qatar’s silver medal-winning
team at the 1981 FIFA World Youth championship in Australia.
AtAr Football Association
Vice-President Saud
Abdulaziz Al Mohannadi
described the performance of
the boys in the AFc Under-19
championship as “brilliant”.
“We’re of course happy with
what we’ve achieved. they’ve
played brilliantly so far in
the tournament. We
hope they go on and
win the tournament,
thus bettering our
runners-up finish
in the 1980 edition,”
said Al Mohannadi.
“For a long
time, we had been
working, based
on a precise
plan, keeping
this tournament in mind. We
had sent the team to camps and
tournaments in Europe. Looking
back, I would say they benefited
greatly from those outings. they
played against top sides from
across the world. It reflected on
their performances in Myanmar,”
he added.
5
‘Success a testament to teamwork’
the Supreme committee for
Delivery and Legacy said the Qatari
colts’ good show in Myanmar was
the result of the hard work of all
stakeholders.
“the Supreme committee for
Delivery and Legacy congratulates
the boys on their historic
qualification for the 2015 FIFA
Under-20 World cup in New
Zealand and their impressive
run to the final of the AFc U-19
championship in Myanmar,
defeating the hosts, china, Oman
and North Korea along the way,” it
said in a statement.
“the success is a testament to
the hard work of the Qatar Football
Association, ASPIrE Academy and
all involved in the development
of the game. these boys will no
doubt form an integral part of
Qatar’s ’22 FIFA World cup squad.
We wish coach Felix Sanchez and
the entire team the best of luck
against North Korea on thursday.
May they better Qatar’s 1981 run
when they reached the final of
the World Youth championship at
next year’s edition,” the statement
added.
Sanchez all praise
for his players
Q
AtAr coach Felix Sanchez praised his
players for accomplishing their “dream” of
securing a place at the 2015 FIFA Under-20
World cup.
“this is the time to enjoy the achievement,
it’s a dream come true moment for the players.
I’m so happy we’ve qualified for the World cup,”
said Sanchez, after Qatar defeated china in the
quarterfinal to seal a place in the New Zealand
tournament.
In the semifinal, Qatari boys showed real
character while coming from behind to put it past
hosts Myanmar in front of a vociferous home
crowd.
“I’m so proud and happy with the boys. they
put in a lot of efforts against a good team in a
great football environment,” said the Spaniard.
“Playing at a sold-out stadium (Youth training
centre, Yangon) was a great experience for the
players. the fact that they came back quickly after
conceding two second-half goals to win made me
very satisfied.
“It was definitely the hardest game we had
played, especially in such a lively atmosphere,” he
said.
there were quite a few good individual
performances throughout the tournament, but
Sanchez highlighted teamwork as reason for the
fantastic result.
“Our success was really about teamwork,” said
Sanchez.
6
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
FOOTBALL | QATAR
Cometh
cometh
QSL SHORT TAKES
WEEK 8
AL ARABI 0 UMM SALAL 1
Abdulkader Ilyas scored the all-important goal in the
22nd minute as Umm Salal defeated Al Arabi in a
keenly-contested match. tuncay Sanli did the spade
work for the goal when he picked out Ilyas with a
cross from the right, which the Qatar international
emphatically headed in.
MOHAMMED MUNTARI
NETS TWICE IN THREE
MINUTES TO HAND EL
JAISH A HARD-EARNED
WIN OVER QATAR SC,
WRITES N GANESH.
A
AL GHARAFA 3 AL SHAHANIYA 0
Gharafa breezed past Al Shahaniya. Argentinian
forward Lisandro Lopez opened Gharafa’s account in
the 13th minute while brazilian winger Nene made
it 2-0 just past the half-hour mark. Moayad Hassan
ended the game as a contest by netting the third
two minutes after resumption.
DSP/Fadi Al Assaad
WEEK 7
ŠŠEl Jaish’s
Abdulrahman
Abkar, left,
celebrates with
Mohammed
Muntari.
FtEr his ‘false No.9’ strategy
proved utterly ineffective, El
Jaish coach Nabil Maaloul
turned to his specialist striker
Mohammed Muntari, who netted
two goals in three minutes in the
second half to hand them a
hard-earned 2-1 win over Qatar
Sports club.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd managed
a scratchy 2-1 win over Al Ahli to
stay on top of the standings while
Lekhwiya kept pace by seeing off Al
Kharaitiyat with a late Nam
tae-Hee goal.
brazilian winger Nene converted
a penalty in stoppage time to save
Al Gharafa’s blushes against Al Khor,
who went ahead through Madson.
However, they did not face much
challenge from Al Shahaniya while
beating them 3-0 in an
eighth-round match on tuesday.
Umm Salal, who had scored a
fluent 3-0 win over Shahaniya,
shocked Al Arabi 1-0 in the day’s
other match. the men in red had
come from behind to beat Al
Wakrah 4-2, but they could not
repeat the show against the
AL AHLI 1 AL SADD 2
AL WAKRAH 2 AL ARABI 4
AL SHAHANIYA 0 UMM SALAL 3
AL KHOR 1 AL GHARAFA 1
Leaders Al Sadd scored a come-from-behind win
over Al Ahli. Prolific scorer Alain Dioko put Ahli in
front in the 43rd minute, but Sadd rallied through
goals from Hassan Al Haidous (49th) and Hamza Al
Senhaji (79th).
Al Arabi bounced back from a two-goal deficit to win
4-2. Mouhssine Moutouali netted a brace (eighth
and 20th) to boost Wakrah’s hopes, but Paulinho
(21st and 81st), Imoh Ezekiel (50th) and Mousa
baraka (77th) ensured Arabi returned to winning.
Abdulkader Ilyas, who recently joined Umm Salal on
loan from El Jaish, netted a hat-trick as Umm Salal
blanked Al Shahaniya 3-0. the striker found the
target in the 35th, 54th and 80th minutes to give the
men in orange their second win.
Al Khor missed an opportunity to script their second
win by conceding a stoppage-time equaliser. Khor
took the lead in the 68th through Madson. Miku,
who came on as a second-half substitute, won a
penalty in the 91st and Nene converted it.
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
h the hour,
h Muntari
men in orange.
Al Sailiya’s poor run of form
continued as they settled for a 2-2
draw with promoted Al Shamal.
Jaish enjoyed 72 per cent
possession, but found themselves a
goal down at half-time as Qatar Sc
scored from their first and, perhaps,
only major chance in the session in
the 19th minute. When cho Youngcheol’s free-kick from the right
corner of the box flew past the wall
and went inside after scraping the
left post, it raised hopes of another
upset. but it did not materialise.
Muntari replaced defender Lucas
AL SADD MANAGED A
SCRATCHY 2-1 WIN OVER
AL AHLI TO STAY ON TOP
OF THE STANDINGS.
Mendes, who had twisted his ankle,
and made a telling impact. With
Qatar Sc defending in numbers,
Jaish had to wait until close to
the halfway mark to find the
breakthrough. romarinho released
left-back Ali Sanad, whose floater
found Muntari and the Ghanaian
outjumped his marker to head
home the equaliser in the 58th.
Winger Majed Mohammed, who
has improved on his defensive skills
since joining Jaish from Sadd last
season, did the spade work for the
second goal. the Qatar international
nutmegged Khalid Zakiba inside the
area before laying off to Muntari,
who made no mistake.
“All four of our foreign players
are good, but due to the rule, we
had to play without our centre
forward (Muntari). I’m happy with
our performance, especially our
defence, which gave away hardly
anything. I felt we could’ve passed
the ball more quickly in the first
half,” said Maaloul. His counterpart
radhi Shenaishil had not lost since
joining the club, with the team
amassing a maximum 12 points
from four games under him.
Jaish players looked nervy soon
after conceding a goal, but they
regained composure and trooped
out deserving winners.
Shenaishil could have still kept
his unbeaten record intact, had
Hamdi Harbaoui converted the
penalty he won. but Ahmed Sufiyan
denied him, diving to his right.
the fortnight-long international
break was the most preferred reason
for many coaches who failed to get
the best out of their players last
week, but when Shenaishil harped
on it, he seemed to have a point.
“We had a good momentum and
the break adversely affected us,” said
Shenaishil.
“Jaish have a lot of good-quality
players. We tried to stop them from
playing their natural game, but it
wasn’t always possible.
“As you might’ve noticed, the
substitutions made the difference.
If you ask me about strategies, I
would say good players make good
coaches. A coach can do wonders
only if he has top-quality players ,”
said the Iraqi.
7
ŠŠAl Sadd’s
Ibrahim Majed, left,
challenges Al Ahli’s
Alain Dioko.
Five of our players
had started against
Australia and we
deserved more time. I
was bothered not only
about the result, but
completing the game
without any serious
injuries to our players.
Housseine Amouta,
Al Sadd coach.
‘We suffered from fatigue’
A
L SADD coach Housseine
Amouta was unhappy
with the fact that his
team got a day less to recover
from a gruelling international
break ahead
of the Al
Ahli game,
which they
struggled to
win 2-1.
“While all other
top teams’ games
were scheduled for
Saturday, we had to
play one day earlier,”
said Amouta. “Five of our
players had started against
Australia and we deserved
more time. As you could
see, we suffered from
fatigue.”
Sadd found it tough to
reproduce their usual
free-flowing game as Ahli
took the lead in the 43rd
minute, thanks to a Dioko
Kaluyituka goal. However,
Hassan Al Haidous (49th)
and substitute Hamza
Sanhaji (79th) ensured
Sadd remained unbeaten.
“I was bothered not
QATAR SC 1 EL JAISH 2
AL KHARAITIYAT 0 LEKHWIYA 1
AL SHAMAL 2 AL SAILIYA 2
Second-half substitute Mohammed Muntari netted
two goals in three minutes as El Jaish fought back to
beat Qatar Sports club. cho Young-cheol had scored
in the 19th minute, but Muntari found the targets in
the 58th and 60th minutes.
South Korean midfielder Nam tae-Hee saved
Lekhwiya’s blushes. the defending champions had
lost to Al Sadd in their previous game and they
struggled against Kharaitiyat before Nam found the
target in the 89th.
ricardo costa’s own goal gave Shamal the lead in the
fifth while Mohammed Salah equalised in the 72nd.
Said boutahar put Shamal again in front in the 80th
while Marconi costa’s 77th-minute own goal meant
the teams shared points.
only about the result, but
completing the game without
any serious injuries to our
players.
“We missed several
opportunities due to the
players’ low physical level. I
don’t find any other reason for
Khalfan (Ibrahim) missing the
WE MISSED SEVERAL
OPPORTUNITIES DUE
TO THE PLAYERS’ LOW
PHYSICAL LEVEL.
penalty. He doesn’t normally do
that,” said the Moroccan, who
praised his players for showing
determination.
“At the start of the season,
we had to switch between the
domestic and Asian leagues.
And now came the international
break. but the players
remained determined and
showed character. It has been a
commendable show by them,”
said Amouta.
» The writer can be contacted at:
[email protected]
KICK-OFF
WEDNESDAY,
OCTOBER 22
SATURDAY,
OCTOBER 25
SUNDAY,
OCTOBER 26
Al Sadd vs Al Sailiya
Al Sadd Stadium, 5.30pm.
Al Shamal vs Qatar Sc
Al Shamal Stadium, 5.30pm.
Lekhwiya vs Al Wakrah
Lekhwiya Stadium, 5.30pm.
El Jaish vs Al Khor
Lekhwiya Stadium, 7.45pm.
Al Ahli vs Al Kharaitiyat
Al Arabl Stadium, 7.45pm.
Al Khor vs Al Shamal
Al Khor Stadium, 5.30pm.
Al Shahaniya vs Al Arabi
Al Gharafa Stadium, 5.30pm.
Al Gharafa vs El Jaish
Al Gharafa Stadium, 7.45pm.
Al Wakrah vs Al Ahli
Al Wakrah Stadium, 7.45pm.
Umm Salal vs Lekhwiya
Qatar Sc Stadium, 5.30pm.
Qatar Sc vs Al Sadd
Qatar Sc Stadium, 7.45pm.
Al Kharaityat vs Al Sailiya
Al Khor Stadium, 7.45pm.
8
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
FOOTBALL | QATAR
The little big men!
Mohammad Amin-ul Islam
A
FtEr South Korea’s
semifinal appearance at
the 2002 FIFA World cup,
which they co-hosted with
Japan, their players attracted
a lot of interests in Europe.
the rise of Park Ji-Sung at
PSV Eindhoven, after his move
from Kyoto Sanga Fc in ’03, also
helped increase the demand for
Korean players.
two years later, Park became
the torchbearer of his country in
the English Premier League when
he moved to Manchester United.
During his seven-year stint with
the English giants, Park won
the league four times besides a
champions League title.
though South Korea had played
in the ’11 Asian cup in Qatar,
not many of their players were
interested in a club career in the
country.
FIFA-accredited agent Nasser
Faisal Al Naimi said the Korean
players started to show real
interest only after Qatar won the
’22 World cup bid in ’10.
“the mindset of the Koreans
changed after the ’22 World cup
bid. the big money on offer is
another reason why they now
prefer to play in the Qatar Stars
League (QSL),” Al Naimi told Doha
Stadium Plus.
this season, as many as eight
Korean players are plying their
trade in Qatar.
Qatar’s most successful club
Al Sadd set the trend when they
hired Lee Jung-Soo from Kashima
Antlers in ’10. the centre-back was
a vital presence when Sadd won
the AFc champions League in ’11,
beating Jeonbuk Hyundai in the
tie-breaker. Even at the age of 34,
best midfielder in the QSL and,
alongside Lee, has encouraged
their compatriots to play in Qatar.
“the Koreans are a big gain for
the QSL clubs as they’re the most
committed and disciplined players,
who can be role models for many
young Qataris. Nam is the best
example,” said Lekhwiya coach
Michael Laudrup.
Encouraged by the Koreans’
success in the QSL, Saudi Arabia’s
Al Hilal and the UAE’s Al Ain
have also signed players from
that country such as defender
Kwak tae-Hwi and midfielder Lee
Myung-Joo respectively.
“Korean players set a very
high standard and are good
professionals,” said El Jaish coach
Nabil Maloul, who has signed
World cupper Lee Keun-Ho.
While Nam and Lee have
already established themselves,
newcomers Lee Keun-Ho and
the Qatar Sports club duo of cho
Young-cheol and Han Kook-Young
too have impressed and are sure to
play important roles in their team’s
success.
THE MINDSET OF THE
KOREANS CHANGED AFTER
QATAR WON THE 2022
WORLD CUP BID.
he is a rock in their defence.
“Koreans are well-mannered
and disciplined people. As players,
they’ve good tactical and technical
sense,” said Al Sadd’s Football
Director and former captain
Mohammed Gholam, who played
alongside Lee till he retired in ’12.
“they’ve overcome the language
barrier, hot conditions and have
adjusted well,” said Al Sadd coach
Housseine Amouta.
Nam tae-Hee, who joined
Lekhwiya in ’12, is arguably the
NAM TAE-HEE
(midfielder) Lekhwiya
KWAK HEE-JU
Defender, Al Wakrah
SHIN JIN-HO
Midfielder, Al Sailiya
SOUTH KOREANS
IN THE QSL
CHO YONG-HYUNG
Defender, Al Shamal
LEE KEUN-HO
Striker, El Jaish
LEE JUNG-SOO
Defender, Al Sadd
HAN KOOK-YOUNG
Midfielder, Qatar Sc
CHO YOUNG-CHEOL
Striker, Qatar Sc
HONG JEONG-HO
Defender, Augsburg
SON HEUNG-MIN
Midfielder, bayer
Leverkusen
KIM BO-KYUNG
Midfielder, cardiff city
LEE CHUNG-YONG
Midfielder, bolton
Wanderers
KI SEUNG-YUENG
Midfielder, Swansea
YUN SUK-YOUNG
Defender, QPr
ASIA’S
BEST
TOP KOREANS
IN EUROPE
PARK JOO-HO
Defender, Mainz
South Korea are the most
successful Asian team
with nine FIFA World cup
appearances, eight of
them consecutively.
they had reached the
round of 16 at the ’10
World cup in South Africa.
they won the first two
editions of the AFc Asian
cup in 1956 and ’60,
finished runners-up in
’72, ’80 and ’88, and third
in 2000, ’07, and ’11.
Despite going through
five World cups without
winning a match, Korea
still remain the only Asian
team to have reached the
semifinal at the World
cup, when they co-hosted
the 2002 tournament
with Japan.
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
“the Koreans are the
most committed and
disciplined players, and
can be role models for
many young Qataris.
the efficiency of Nam is
the best example.
“the South Koreans have
overcome the language
barrier, hot conditions
and have also adjusted
well.
Stielike tastes
first defeat
German World cupper Uli
Stielike, who had coaching
stints at Al Arabi and Al
Sailiya in Qatar, tasted his first
defeat as South Korea coach
after the taeguk Warriors
went down to World cup
quarterfinalists costa rica
1-3 in an international
friendly last week.
Stielike, 59, had
started his new stint
with a 2-0 win over
Paraguay in the previous
week with goals from
Kim Min-Woo and Nam
tae-Hee.
“the players will’ve to
work hard and try to win
every match to win the hearts
of fans,” said Stielike, who
succeeded Hong Myung-bo in
September after Korea failed to
progress past the group stage
at the brazil World cup.
the German, given a
contract till the ’18 World
cup, has been tasked with
rebuilding the side and
guiding them at the
forthcoming Asian
cup in Australia.
JI DONG-WON
Midfielder, borussia
Dortmund
N
“Koreans are
well-mannered and
disciplined people. As
players, they’ve good
tactical and technical
sense, which distinguishes
them from the rest.
Housseine Amouta,
Al Sadd coach.
Michael Laudrup, Lekhwiya coach.
Mohammed Gholam, Al Sadd Football Director.
ŠŠbayer Leverkusen’s
Son Heung-Min is the
toast of team-mates
after scoring against
Augsburg in the
German bundesliga
match recently.
‘Bundesliga is best place
for young South Koreans’
S
OUtH Korean legend Cha
Bum-Kun spoke highly of
his countrymen currently
plying their trade in the German
bundesliga.
Koreans Son Heung-Min
at bayer Leverkusen, Koo
Ja-cheol and Park JooHo at Mainz, and Ji
Dong-Won and Hong
Jeong-Ho at Augsburg
are all crucial players at
their clubs.
cha, who scored goals at will
for Eintracht Frankfurt and bayer
throughout the 1980s, said the
influx of taeguk Warriors into
Germany hugely benefited the
game in his country. He added that
the bundesliga, not the English
Premier League (EPL), was the best
place for young players.
“they’re
KOO JA-CHEOL
Forward, Mainz 05
IGErIA international striker
Imoh Ezekiel is having a
whale of a time in his maiden
season at Al Arabi. the 20-year-old,
who joined from belgium’s Standard
Liege, scored his fifth league goal
in their 4-2 win over Al Wakrah last
week.
He was on the radar of clubs in
England, France, Germany, Italy,
turkey and russia, but he felt the
offer from Arabi was far better.
“I didn’t want to leave Liege. I
wanted to stay for another season
Ezekiel is Al Arabi’s new hope
or two, but this transfer came from
nowhere. the deal was so good for
me and my family that I couldn’t say
no. So I accepted the offer,” Ezekiel
told Doha Stadium Plus.
Arabi coach Dan Petrescu banks
on Ezekiel’s poaching skills and his
partnership with former Swansea
winger Pablo Hernandez as the duo
has given the side a lift. Arabi are now
fourth in the league.
“the set-up is great here and I
hope we’ll do well in the league,” he
said.
9
back home, Ezekiel is one of the
most promising players. He made his
debut for his country as a secondhalf substitute during their friendly
against Mexico in Georgia, US, in
March, but he was left out of Stephen
Keshi’s World cup squad in brazil.
Ezekiel, the only Nigerian in the
Qatar Stars League, said he had age
on his side and a good stint here
could make him a regular with the
Super Eagles.
“I’m just 20 and World cup
opportunities will come again. If I
continue to perform well
for my club, I think I’ll get
plenty of chances to play for
my country,” said Ezekiel, adding
that he owed Liege a lot.
“I’ve good memories with them.
When I went to Europe in 2012, other
clubs didn’t give me any chance.
but at Liege, I was able to show my
talent. I’m grateful to them forever,”
he said.
» The writer can be contacted at:
[email protected]
very hard-working and adaptable
and always put themselves fully
at the service of the team, which
is just the mix required for the
modern game. they follow the
coach’s instructions and don’t
make a fuss,” cha, Korea’s alltime leading scorer with 55
goals, was quoted as saying
in www.bundesliga.com.
“the style of play in
Germany suits them well.
recently, the EPL was the dream
destination for most Koreans and
Park Ji-Sung was the ultimate
career role model. but the
bundesliga has improved by leaps
and bounds, and is one of the best
leagues in the world now,” he
added.
10
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
FOOTBALL | QATAR/ASIA
EXCLUSIVE
Pride of place!
W
ItH the national
team’s recent win
over Australia and the
juniors’ progress into the FIFA
Under-20 World cup finals in New
Zealand next year, the on-field
prospects of Qatar football look
rosy, compared to the gloomy
recent days.
Off the field too, there are signs
of the country regaining its lost
dominance. In all probability, there
could be a Qatari in the powerful
FIFA Executive committee by next
year.
the present office-bearers of
the Asian Football confederation
QFA VICE-PRESIDENT
SAUD ABDULAZIZ
AL MOHANNADI IS LIKELY
TO ENTER THE FRAY.
(AFc) will complete their tenure
next year. Election for the post of
president, the entire executive and
positions to be filled up in the FIFA
Excom for the 2015-19 term will
be held in the first week of May.
Doha Stadium Plus has learnt
that the Qatar Football Association
(QFA) would field a candidate. With
its chief Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa
bin Ahmed Al thani reluctant to
contest, Vice-President and former
general secretary Saud Abdulaziz
Al Mohannadi is likely to enter the
fray.
Asia has a quota of four in
the world body’s top decisionmaking committee — one vicepresident and three members. the
four Asian representatives in the
present Excom are Prince Ali bin
Al Hussein (Jordan), who is one of
the vice-presidents, AFc President
Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al
Khalifa (bahrain), Worawi Makudi
(thailand) and Zhang Jilong
(china).
With the AFc having amended
its statutes earlier this year, its chief
would henceforth automatically
become one of FIFA’s eight vicepresidents and separate elections
will be held to choose the other
three members.
the amiable Al Mohannadi,
who has been working with the
national federation for more than
two decades, is seen as a dedicated
official with a clean image and
also capable of protecting Qatar’s
interests on the global stage,
particularly when it is gearing up
to stage the ’22 World cup.
the name of Supreme
committee for Delivery and Legacy
Secretary General Hassan Al
thawadi, who ran unsuccessfully
against Shaikh Salman for the FIFA
post after the unceremonious exit
of Mohammed bin Hammam, had
also done the rounds, but sources
ruled out the possibility of him
running again.
When contacted, Al Mohannadi
refused to acknowledge he would
be the candidate, but confirmed
Qatar would field one.
“the QFA will definitely field a
candidate for the FIFA Excom post.
I can confirm this, but we haven’t
decided who it would be,” said
Al Mohannadi. “We’ll discuss all
aspects and arrive at a consensus,
and announce the candidate next
month.”
Football Association of Malaysia
President Prince Abdullah
Sultan Ahmad Shah has already
announced his candidacy and
according to reliable sources,
there could at least be four
more candidates, apart from Al
Mohannadi, vying for the three
positions. Japan’s Kohzo tashima,
South Korea’s chung Mong-Gyu,
Makudi and Prince Ali are likely
to throw their hats into the ring,
making it a six-way contest.
Unlike elections to the AFc
executive, where quotas are fixed
for five different zones of the
Photo/ Osama Faisal
QATAR MAY ONCE AGAIN HAVE
REPRESENTATION IN THE POWERFUL FIFA
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AS IT IS
LIKELY TO FIELD A CANDIDATE IN NEXT
YEAR’S ELECTIONS, WRITES KUMAR RAVI.
Saud Abdulaziz
Al Mohannadi
continent, there is no such limit for
FIFA Excom. but it seems that Al
Mohannadi (West), chung (East)
and Prince Abdullah (ASEAN) have
the blessings of Shaikh Salman,
who is likely to be re-elected as the
AFc chief.
be that it may, there is a
possibility that Prince Ali, who
opposed Shaikh Salman’s proposal
for a statute change making AFc
chief an automatic FIFA vicepresident, could launch a challenge
for the presidency itself.
It remains to be seen who all will
form the axis of power in world
football, but it looks certain that
there could be a Qatari again.
» The writer can be contacted at:
[email protected]
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
şşbrazil’s Neymar
takes a free-kick
against Japan
during their friendly
in Singapore.
11
Hong Kong left to
foot bill of rout
T
REUTERS/Edgar Su
HE Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA)
was left red-faced and out of pocket after
only managing to sell half the tickets
for the recent glamour friendly
against Argentina to mark its
centenary.
Only 20,230 turned up at
the 40,000-capacity Hong
Kong Stadium to witness a
two-goal, 30-minute cameo
by four-time world player of the
year Lionel Messi in a lopsided 7-0 stroll for the
World cup runners-up.
It was reported months ago that the hosts
needed a full house in order to break even after
pricing the cost of staging the fixture at $3.87m.
“It’s a shame. the second-best team in the
world was here and we had a half-empty
stadium,” HKFA’s Mark Sutcliffe said after the
match.
Aguirre’s Japan race against time
John O’Brien
J
APAN coach Javier Aguirre faces
a race against time to find a
squad capable of putting up a
strong Asian cup title defence, the
Mexican admitting he needs at
least two more matches to weigh
up his options ahead of next year’s
tournament.
Japan are a team in transition
and have struggled since Aguirre
replaced Alberto Zaccheroni in July
after a poor World cup, winning just
one of the four matches, with a 4-0
hammering by brazil in Singapore
last week doing little to boost
morale.
Aguirre, who coached Mexico at
two World cups, fielded a youthful
side against brazil and although they
were unable to prevent an inspired
Neymar from grabbing all four goals,
he was generally satisfied with his
team’s work rate and determination.
“Our objective of this game was
to gauge selection options for
the Asian cup, in that sense I was
able to observe prospective squad
I CAN’T FAULT THE
PLAYERS’ DESIRE AS THEY
TRIED THEIR HARDEST
UNTIL THE FINAL WHISTLE.
members,” said Aguirre.
“I can’t fault the players’ desire as
they tried their hardest until the final
whistle, but you’ve to remember, we
were playing against one of the best
teams in the world,” he said.
Admittedly, brazil are a far more
daunting prospect than any of the
teams Japan will face in Australia
when they begin the defence of their
continental title against Palestine on
January 12, but Aguirre remains a
long way off knowing who will start
that game.
“I’ve had four games to look at the
squad and already have a rough idea
of which players will make it, but I’ll
still need the next two friendlies to
observe them all before I can finalise
my squad for the Asian cup.
“Of course, I’m not happy to have
lost, but I saw my players in the
changing room after the game and it
was evident that they had tried their
best. I’m satisfied with that,” he said.
Japan started the match with
seven J-League players in the lineup and Aguirre is likely to use next
month’s home friendlies against
Honduras and Australia to allow
fringe players a final chance to stake
claims for Asian cup selection.
“I rested some of the more
experienced players as it’s difficult
to give everyone a game,” Aguirre
added.
Japan complete their preparations
for the Asian cup with two further
friendlies against North Korea and
bahrain before the opening Group
D tie against the Palestinians in
Newcastle.
Jordan and Iraq are the other two
teams in the group.
Nepal association
chief steps down
N
EPAL’S powerful football chief Ganesh
Thapa stepped down from his post
last Monday, pending a parliamentary
investigation accusing him of embezzling
millions of dollars and accepting bribes during
his 19-year tenure.
thapa, a vice-president of the Asian Football
confederation, is under
investigation over allegations
that $5.85m were
embezzled.
He announced his plans
to stand aside as president
of the All Nepal Football
Association (ANFA) at a Press
conference.
“I’m now handing over my responsibilities...
for two months,” said thapa.
ANFA’s cEO Indra Man tuladhar said that the
association’s treasurer biraj Jung Shahi would
also step down while an anti-graft commission
investigates corruption claims involving the two
men.
ŢşShaikh Salman
bin Ibrahim Al
Khalifa hands
the AFc cup to Al
Qadisiya captain
Saleh Al Sheikh.
Wanderers hope
to spring surprise
Qadisiya emerge champs
the trophy. He also handed the Most
Valuable Player award to midfielder
Saif Al Hashan, who immediately set
his sights on bigger prizes after both
finalists qualified for the champions
League.
“A club like Qadisiya should be
playing in the AFc champions
League, not in the AFc cup,” said Al
Hashan.
“We’ve shown that there’s a big
difference between us and the other
teams in the competition,” he added.
D
AFP/Karim Sahib
D
ANIJEL Subotic scored the
winning spot-kick as Al
Qadisiya beat Iraq’s Erbil 4-2
on penalties to win the AFc cup last
week.
the Kuwaiti club dominated
much of the 90 minutes and
extra time, but could not convert
their advantage into goals as the
regulation time ended goalless.
Asian Football confederation
President Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim
Al Khalifa presented Al Qadisiya with
EbUtANtS Western Sydney Wanderers
hope to spring a surprise when they play
traditional West Asian powerhouses
Al Hilal in the first leg of the AFc champions
League final at the Parramatta Stadium,
Sydney, on Saturday.
tony Popovic’s men began only their third
A-League campaign earlier this month, but they
will be confident having come so far with some
spirited performances.
they have built their continental success on a
solid defensive record, having won their last five
AFc champions League games at home without
conceding a goal.
12
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
FOOTBALL | INTERNATIONAL
Lion King!
LIONEL MESSI, WHO HAS COMPLETED 10 YEARS AT BARCELONA,
KEEPS REWRITING THE HISTORY BOOKS, WRITES TIM HANLON.
L
IONEL Messi may lack a World
cup for Argentina, but his 10
years with barcelona have
seen him rewrite the history books
and become symbolic with the
club’s golden era.
Long before Messi made his
debut for the catalan club, coming
on as a late substitute in the local
derby with Espanyol on October 16,
2004, aged 17, news had spread
that barca had a player in their
renowned La Masia youth academy
that was out of the ordinary.
Sports newspapers in Spain
had reported that there was an
Argentinian youngster who could
be the new Maradona and take
the world by storm, but few would
have imagined what an impact he
was going to make in the game and
for barcelona in particular.
the fact he arrived in barcelona
at all is thanks to the perseverance
of his father Jorge, who having
exhausted the options of clubs
in Argentina, that would not pay
or could not afford the growth
hormone treatment the diminutive
Lionel needed, looked overseas to
Spain. barcelona’s then technical
director carles rexach needed
little time to be convinced by
the 13-year-old’s potential and
famously scribbled a quick contract
on a serviette at the Pompeia tennis
club with the player’s agents.
From there, Messi, now 27,
quickly passed through the youth
ranks before he made his first-team
debut. His first goal came with a
delicate chip in his sixth appearance
in the final game of the season
against Albacete.
He went on to be named player
of the tournament as Argentina
won the ’05 Under-20 World
championship and ahead of the
new season in a friendly against
Juventus at the camp Nou,
the Italian coach
Fabio capello
1
S
ENT
M
O
NM
E
D
L
GO
remarked, “bring me this little devil,
I’ve never seen a kid of his age be so
tricky, he looks like Maradona.”
Initially, he was in the shadow
of ronaldinho, but he quickly
established himself as a leader of
the team as the brazilian’s career at
barca ended prematurely due to a
lack of discipline and his enjoyment
of the city’s night life.
Messi’s most memorable goal
MESSI HAS BEEN VOTED
WORLD PLAYER OF
THE YEAR ON FOUR
OCCASIONS.
is that against Getafe in ’07, which
again sparked comparisons with
Maradona as it was very similar to
the latter’s mazy dribble against
England in the World cup in 1986.
Starting on the right of midfield,
he left a succession of Getafe
players in his wake before rounding
the keeper and scoring.
It was following the arrival of
Pep Guardiola as coach in ’08 that
Messi really came to the fore as the
talisman for the most successful
period in barca’s history.
With Guardiola introducing the
discipline that had been lacking
under the laid-back Frank rijkaard,
barca went on to win three
successive league titles as well
as the champions League
in ’09 and ’11 and
plenty of
3
2
in
but
l de am
a
i
c
Offi first te na on ,
4
o
the barcel 6, 200
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o
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ss
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,
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e
a
i
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Alb en he ldinh a delic
a
wh ron r with
from keepe
the .
chip
other silverware.
On a personal level Messi has
been voted World Player of the
Year on four occasions and has
a breathtaking scoring record. It
includes hitting 73 goals in the
2011-12 season, more than 400
goals for club and country in all
competitions.
Last season under coach tata
Martino, all the major trophies
escaped barca and Messi was not
at his best and a disappointing
domestic season was followed by
even greater disappointment at the
World cup.
Seeking to emulate Maradona’s
1986 World cup success,
Argentina fell at the final hurdle to
Germany, but he has started this
season with renewed vigour and
has a new target as he aims to
beat telmo Zarra’s La Liga scoring
record of 251 goals established
during his 15 years at Atletico
Madrid in the ’40s and ’50s.
Messi scored during barca’s 3-0
league victory over Eibar last week
to be on 250 goals.
It will not be long before he
surpasses the long-standing
record because the incredible
career of one of football’s alltime greats is far from
over.
4
hat
rst
is fi h, ’07, d
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bar ix trop
all s ilable.
ava
“Gareth
bale is one of
the best players in
the world. I also agree
cristiano ronaldo is one of the
best players in the world, and I train
every day with (Lionel) Messi. I know the
way he plays and for me, he’s the best of them all.
Neymar, barcelona forward.
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
13
Suarez unstoppable, says Dalglish
B
ArcELONA’S Luis Suarez
received the Golden boot
award as Europe’s top scorer
last season from Kenny Dalglish,
who signed him for Liverpool in
2011.
the Uruguayan scored 31 times
to help Liverpool into second in the
English Premier League.
Now with barcelona, the
27-year-old shared the award with
real Madrid’s cristiano ronaldo,
who ended the campaign with the
same tally.
Suarez said, “I want to thank all
the most important people in my
life, my wife and my children.
“And of course everyone at
Liverpool — all my colleagues, not
just last year, but over the whole
three-and-a-half years I was at
the club.
“they were spectacular years and
it was thanks to this man here
(Dalglish) that they signed
me, that they
noticed me.
Now
“Messi is a
competitive
being, one
day I’ll be able
to look back
and say that
I trained Leo.
He’ll break all
the records.
8
Pep Guardiola,
bayern Munich
coach, who was
formerly with
barcelona.
7
6
I’m moving on to a new period, and
I’ve to enjoy this next stage of my
life — it’s a dream come true.”
Meanwhile, Dalglish, his former
boss at Anfield, said, “I don’t think
there’ll be anybody who’ll
be able to stop him.
He has been
fantastic
9
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rd 5 2 La
reco 011-1
a
2
e
red
Sco ls in th n.
goa seaso
Liga
and fabulously entertaining. there’s
no reason why he won’t continue
that for barcelona. but if he does
hit a problem, I’m sure we can take
him back on loan,” said Dalglish.
barcelona coach Luis Enrique
said Suarez would be ready for his
debut, against Madrid.
“He still needs to improve his
condition physically as he has
been out for a long time, but he’s a
special player who can provide lots
of different options,” Luis Enrique
told a news conference in
barcelona.
10
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Cristiano
Ronaldo
Will Barca’s MNS outshine Madrid’s BBC?
Iain Rogers
W
HILE real Madrid’s
fearsome attacking trio
of cristiano ronaldo,
Gareth bale and Karim benzema
has become known collectively
as ‘bbc’ in Spain, barcelona are
confident ‘MNS’ can be at least as
lethal.
Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis
Suarez could play a competitive
game together for the first time
in the La Liga clasico at Madrid’s
bernabeu stadium on Saturday, the
day after Suarez’s four-month ban
for biting an opponent at the World
cup expires.
Messi and Neymar have been
unable to keep up with ronaldo’s
incredible haul of 15 goals in seven
La Liga outings this term, but have
the same number between them
and the return of Suarez should
boost barca’s already formidable
scoring rate even further.
the exploits of the three South
Americans on international duty last
week prompted crowing headlines
in the barcelona-based sports
papers, who suggested Messi,
Neymar and Suarez were shifting
into top gear at exactly the right
time.
Messi struck twice for Argentina
as a second-half substitute against
Hong Kong, Suarez netted a double
for Uruguay against Oman and
Neymar cracked four goals past
Japan.
MESSI AND NEYMAR HAVE
BEEN UNABLE TO KEEP
PACE WITH RONALDO.
“barca sharpens its aim before
the clasico,” added Mundo
Deportivo.
to be sure, all three matches
were friendlies against weak or
weakened opponents and the trio
will be up against defenders of a far
higher quality in the clasico.
ronaldo and bale, meanwhile,
were instrumental in important
wins for Portugal and Wales
respectively in qualification for Euro
2016 while benzema netted the
opening goal in France’s 2-1
friendly victory against the
Portuguese.
If Suarez does make his
competitive barca debut against
their arch-rivals, Madrid coach carlo
Ancelotti and his players will have
to work out how to thwart three
players who like to roam across the
forward line.
14
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
FOOTBALL | INTERNATIONAL
Pound Sterling!
Toby Davis
REUTERS/Eddie Keogh
B
ššLiverpool’s raheem Sterling, left, celebrates with Steven Gerrard after his cross led to the
winning goal against Queens Park rangers.
rItON raheem Sterling may
be tired, but he will not get
a rest any time soon if he
continues to prove decisive for
a Liverpool side who relied on
his incisive running and a lot
of luck to beat Queens Park
rangers last week.
Far from proving a distraction,
the club-versus-country rumpus
that erupted recently, when the
teenager told England manager
roy Hodgson he was feeling
fatigue in his legs, seemed to be
the catalyst for a performance full
of aggressive intent.
Sterling had a hand in all three
Liverpool goals in a 3-2 victory
over QPr, with a jaw-dropping
finale that included four strikes
after the 86th minute and the
winner arriving five minutes into
stoppage time.
that knockout blow, which
started with a QPr free-kick and
ended with Sterling turning on
the afterburners and crossing low
for an unfortunate Steven caulker
to turn the ball into his own net,
was a stinging sucker punch for the
Poyet did not Gus this!
STERLING HAD A HAND
IN ALL THREE LIVERPOOL
GOALS IN A 3-2 VICTORY
OVER QPR.
with a quick free-kick to Glen
Johnson whose cross was turned in
by QPr defender richard Dunne.
After rangers drew level
through Eduardo Vargas in the
87th, Sterling powered into the
opposition half and released
Philippe coutinho to cut inside and
power a finish into the far corner.
that would have proved decisive
had QPr’s chilean forward not
grabbed his second goal deep into
stoppage time.
Sterling’s final contribution,
B
BIGGEST EPL WINS
REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
Man United bt Ipswich town
9-0 (1995)
tottenham bt Wigan Athletic
9-1 (2009)
Newcastle bt Sheffield Wednesday 8-0 (1999)
Man United bt Nottingham Forest 8-0 (1999)
chelsea bt Wigan Athletic
8-0 (2010)
chelsea bt Aston Villa
8-0 (2012)
Southampton bt Sunderland
8-0 (2014)
Middlesbrough bt Man city
8-1 (2008)
However, a red-faced Poyet was
forced to apologise to the travelling
fans, who witnessed a 3-0 half-time
deficit turn into a humiliating rout.
“You think you’ll never get into
these situations, but unfortunately
it’s sometimes your turn. I feel sorry
for the fans, they came a long way to
see a very difficult game,” he said.
Poyet pointed the finger of blame
at some of his players, who gave up
as the goal tally started to mount.
“I learned a lot about the players,
the bad side as some gave up and I
know who they’re,” said Poyet.
however, completed a hat-trick
of assists, wrapping up all three
points and prompting manager
brendan rodgers to dig deep into
his vocabulary to produce a string
of effusive adjectives.
but the worry for rodgers is that
Sterling at 19 has been a largely
unique bright spot in a difficult
start to the campaign.
the attacking fluency that
characterised Liverpool’s game last
season has departed and defensive
woes continue to hold them
back, with an inability to defend
set-pieces and balls into the box
proving a constant theme.
Vargas’s second equaliser would
have proved particularly galling
as the striker was allowed a free
header at the near post from a
corner and picked his spot.
this is not a new problem. It
was Liverpool’s Achilles heel last
season, but was compensated
for by a free-scoring attack
spearheaded by Luis Suarez in
devastating form.
With the Uruguayan now at
barcelona and his former strike
partner Daniel Sturridge set for
another month on the sidelines
with a calf problem, Liverpool’s
attacking game has lost its bite.
Oscar continues
rich vein of form
S
OUtHAMPtON recorded one
of the biggest victories in
Premier League history when
they crushed a woeful Sunderland
8-0 at St Mary’s, prompting beaten
manager Gus Poyet to describe it as
his “most embarrassing time on a
football pitch”.
the win fell one goal short of
Manchester United’s record 9-0 win
over Ipswich in 1995 and maintained
the south coast club’s remarkable
start to the season under manager
Ronald Koeman.
Southampton’s top scorer Graziano
Pelle scored a double while Jack
cork, Dusan tadic, Victor Wanyama
and Sadio Mane hit one each.
Sunderland conceded two own
goals — through Santiago Vergini
and Liam birdcutt — to complete an
evening of misery.
“I’m still a little bit in shock,” said
Dutchman Koeman, who began the
campaign fending off suggestions
his side would be likely relegation
candidates after selling a number of
last season’s best performers.
Sunderland’s demolition, the latest
evidence to confound the doomladen predictions swirling round
the club in the close season, left
Southampton third on 16 points, six
behind leaders chelsea.
hosts who dominated and should
have been home and dry before
half-time.
As it was, they fluffed a string
of chances and allowed Sterling to
become increasingly influential.
With Mario balotelli again
floundering as the pivot of
Liverpool’s attack, Sterling took
matters into his own hands to
provide the creative spark, laying
on Liverpool’s 67th-minute opener
Oscar
rAZILIAN Oscar’s match-winning
performance in chelsea’s 2-1 away victory
over crystal Palace included a superb free-kick
and the final pass for cesc Fabregas’s decisive goal.
Unbeaten Premier League leaders chelsea settled
the match with goals in the sixth minute of each
halves at Selhurst Park in south London.
Damien Delaney gave away an early free-kick
close to the Palace box that Oscar took right-footed
and curled over the wall and inside the top far
corner out of reach of the diving Julian Speroni.
“We practise free-kicks every day and Fabregas,
Willian or I always take them. When the time
comes, we decide on the spot, one, two, three
and this time, I asked to take it,” Oscar said.
“It depends on the position (of the ball)
and who’s feeling most confident, he’s
the one that will go and take it.”
chelsea scored again in the
51st when both teams were
down to 10 men after their
left back cesar Azpilicueta
and Delaney had been sent
off within three minutes at the end of the first half.
An attack on the centre of the Palace defence,
started by Fabregas, set up Eden Hazard to pass to
Oscar who neatly laid the ball off for the Spaniard to
shoot between Speroni and his near post.
Frazier campbell pulled a goal back for Palace
from Wilfried Zaha’s dart past Filipe Luis on the right
and low cross in the final minute.
15
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
şşreal Madrid’s
cristiano ronaldo,
left, vies with
Levante’s Hector
rodas.
RESULTS
As of Sunday
EPL
QPr lost to Liverpool
2-3
Stoke city bt Swansea city
2-1
Arsenal drew Hull city
2-2
burnley lost to West Ham
1-3
crystal Palace lost to chelsea
1-2
Everton bt Aston Villa
3-0
Man city bt tottenham
4-1
Newcastle Utd bt Leicester city
1-0
Southampton bt Sunderland
8-0
SPFL
Dundee United bt Partick thistle
1-0
Motherwell lost to Dundee
1-3
ross county lost to celtic
0-5
St Johnstone lost to Kilmarnock
1-2
St Mirren lost to Inverness
0-1
Hamilton bt Aberdeen
3-0
AFP/Jose Jordan
LA LIGA
Atl Madrid bt Espanyol
2-0
D coruna bt Valencia
3-0
Elche lost to Sevilla
0-2
Villarreal bt Almeria
2-0
Athletic club drew celta Vigo
1-1
cordoba lost to Malaga
1-2
barcelona bt Eibar
3-0
Levante lost to real Madrid
0-5
Granada cF lost to rayo Vallecano
0-1
SERIE A
WEEKLY ROUND-UP
The double act goes on in La Liga!
C
rIStIANO ronaldo and Lionel
Messi continued their fantastic
double act in La Liga, with the
Portuguese adding to his recordbreaking scoring start to the season
and the Argentinian homing in on
another landmark.
ronaldo grabbed his 14th and
15th goals of the campaign in real
Madrid’s 5-0 win at Levante, beating
the previous best start by Oviedo’s
Esteban Echevarria, who netted 14
times in the first eight games of the
THE UNDEFEATED
BAVARIANS HAVE NOW
WON SIX OF EIGHT
LEAGUE GAMES.
1943-44 season.
barca, now the only unbeaten side
in La Liga, remained four points clear
of third-placed real as they beat
Eibar 3-0, with Messi scoring his
250th La Liga goal to move within
one of telmo Zarra’s milestone of
251, which has stood since ’55.
Sevilla separate the two
powerhouses after beating Elche
2-0. they are three points adrift of
barcelona.
Deportivo la coruna moved off
the bottom of the table with a 3-0
win that halted Valencia’s unbeaten
start to the season while champions
Atletico Madrid moved alongside
them on 17 points after a 2-0 victory
over Espanyol.
Big win for Celtic
In Scotland, a first-half goal glut
helped celtic on their way to a 5-0
demolition of bottom-of-the-table
ross county to ease the pressure on
beleaguered boss ronny Deila.
the win moved celtic up to third
in the table, six points behind leaders
Hamilton Academical.
Bayern demolish Bremen
In Germany, leaders bayern Munich
continued their bundesliga charge,
demolishing Werder bremen 6-0
and protecting their four-point
advantage.
the undefeated bavarians have
now won six of eight league games
and are on 20 points as borussia
Moenchengladbach, who beat
Hannover 96 3-0, moved into second
spot on 16.
Last season’s runners-up borussia
Dortmund slumped to a 1-2 loss
against cologne and are 14th on
seven points. coach roberto Di
Matteo made a winning debut at
Schalke 04, who beat Hertha berlin
2-0.
Juventus held
In Italy, Juventus dropped their first
points of the season when they were
held 1-1 at lowly Sassuolo. Juve have
19 points from seven games.
Second-placed AS roma cut the
leaders’ lead to one point with a
comfortable 3-0 win over chievo,
where Eugenio corini subsequently
became the first coaching victim of
the season.
Sampdoria drew 2-2 at cagliari
and stayed third with 15 points.
1-0
cagliari drew Sampdoria
2-2
Fiorentina lost to Lazio
0-2
Inter Milan drew Napoli
2-2
Palermo bt cesena
2-1
torino bt Udinese
1-0
Verona lost to Ac Milan
1-3
AS roma bt c Verona
3-0
Sassuolo drew Juventus
1-1
BUNDESLIGA
Marseille run continues
In France, Olympique Marseille
stretched their winning streak
to eight games with a 2-0 home
win against toulouse. the victory
restored Marseille’s lead over
champions Paris Saint-Germain to
seven points after PSG’s 3-1 win over
bottom club Lens.
Girondins de bordeaux are third,
alongside PSG on 18 points, after
being held 1-1 by caen.
tempers flared in Nice when local
fans tried to clash with bastia players
after invading the pitch following the
corsican side’s 1-0 win.
Hamburg drew Hoffenheim
1-1
Sc Paderborn bt E Frankfurt
3-1
cologne bt borussia Dortmund
2-1
bayern Munich bt Werder bremen
6-0
Mainz bt Fc Augsburg
2-1
Hanover 96 lost to borussia M’bach
0-3
Freiburg lost to VfL Wolfsburg
1-2
Schalke 04 bt Hertha berlin
2-0
Vfb Stuttgart drew bayer Leverkusen
3-3
LIGUE 1
bordeaux drew caen
1-1
Oly Lyon bt Montpellier
5-1
Oly Marseille bt toulouse
2-0
Monaco bt Evian
2-0
Fc Lorient lost to St Etienne
0-1
Metz drew Stade rennes
0-0
Nantes drew Stade de reims
1-1
Lille lost to Avant
0-2
Nice lost to bastia
0-1
racing Lens lost to PSG
1-3
BRAZILIAN C’SHIP
Atl Paranaense bt Flamengo
2-1
botafogo drew Sport
1-1
Figueirense bt coritiba
4-0
Internacional lost to corinthians
1-2
Palmeiras lost to Santos
1-3
Vitoria lost to cruzeiro
0-1
Atl Mineiro bt chapecoense
1-0
Fluminense bt criciuma
4-2
Goias drew Gremio
0-0
Sao Paulo bt bahia
2-1
ARGENTINIAN C’SHIP
Šşbayern Munich’s
Arjen robben, right,
tries to get past
Werder bremen’s
Sebastian Proedl,
centre, and clemens
Fritz.
REUTERS/Michaela Rehle
Tim Hanlon
Atalanta bt Parma
Godoy cruz lost to boca Jrs
2-3
racing club bt Velez Sarsfield
2-0
river Plate bt Atl belgrano
3-0
rosario central bt Newell’s Ob
2-0
Defensa lost to Lanus
1-2
banfield drew Estudiantes
1-1
San Lorenzo lost to Independiente
1-2
Quilmes drew Atl rafaela
0-0
Gimnasia drew Olimpo
0-0
16
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
FOOTBALL | INTERNATIONAL
Sepp is FIFA and vice versa!
U
EFA President Michel Platini
hit out at FIFA chief Sepp
blatter last week, saying
the Swiss had stopped serving the
cause of football.
“Sepp isn’t the president of
FIFA anymore. He’s FIFA,” said
Frenchman Platini, whose book
Parlons Football (Let’s Talk About
Football) was released last week.
“Platini, Pele, blatter, (former
FIFA president Joao) Havelange
must yield to the interests
of football. “but FIFA often
operates as an electoral
machine in the service of
maintaining one man,” he said.
that was a direct dig at blatter, of
whom Platini has previously said
the time had come for the
78-year-old to step aside and allow
new blood to take over the
helm of the world governing
body.
the Swiss has held various posts
with FIFA since 1975, becoming
president in ’98.
“through this long grip on power
has he developed the desire for and
ability of self-preservation at all
costs?” asked Platini.
He also accused FIFA of having
become the “boss (of individual
federations) when it was originally
their employee”.
“One mustn’t use football, but
serve football,” he said.
Platini, 59, has no regrets for
not running against blatter,
who is likely to secure a fifth
term at next year’s elections.
“It wasn’t the time. I don’t
regret anything. One day
maybe. We’ll see,” he said.
the former France great,
who led Les bleus to their
Euro 1984 title, was
re-elected as UEFA
president in 2011.
Platini said he wanted to see the
sin bin introduced in the game,
but only to combat back-chat from
players.
In his book, Platini espouses the
idea of creating a white card, to
go alongside the existing red and
FIFA OFTEN OPERATES AS
AN ELECTORAL MACHINE
IN THE SERVICE OF
MAINTAINING ONE MAN.
yellow ones, to be used specifically
to send players to the sin bin if
they talk back to referees.
He says the move would
help fight against the “craze of
contesting the referee” which has
become “a veritable epidemic in
football”.
He said the white card would be
followed by a 10-minute spell on
the sidelines.
“It shouldn’t be confused in any
way with the yellow card, which
for its part is dedicated to fouls
Michel
Platini
‘Full report on
bidding not
to go public’
the report into the turbulent bidding
process for the rights to host the next two
World cups cannot be made fully public
for legal reasons, though excerpts of it
may be, FIFA’s ethics judge
Hans-Joachim Eckert said last week.
Eckert is still studying the report
produced by his counterpart Michael
Garcia into whether there was corruption
in the process which led to the 2018
tournament being awarded to russia
and the ’22 event to Qatar, and expects
to issue a statement on his findings by
mid-November.
“the statement will contain an
overview of the investigation report,
a summary of the main findings,
conclusions and recommendations of the
report, as well as a brief evaluation of the
same,” Eckert said.
One of his tasks would be to decide
which parts of the report could be made
public, he added.
Eckert cannot strip either russia or
Qatar from hosting their tournaments,
but can press charges against individuals.
within the game,” he said.
the measure was one of a
number of proposals by Platini,
including increasing the amount
of substitutes allowed during
games from three to five.
He said he wanted to allow
“two changes at half-time while
maintaining the possibility to make
three more during the course of
the match”.
Another idea is to remove the
minimum age requirement for
referees, allow goalline officials
to enter the field of play and
to put an end to the so-called
‘triple penalisation’ when a player
concedes a penalty and is
sent-off for a professional foul,
with a goal often being scored
as well (becoming the third
penalisation for the defending
team).
Meanwhile, Platini backed a
fresh vote on the ’22 World cup if
proof ever emerged of corruption
in choosing Qatar as the venue.
“As for Qatar ’22, I wasn’t
influenced. As far as I’m
concerned, the vote was held in
all transparency and we’ve always
said that in the event of the
slightest hint of corruption, there’ll
be a new vote.
“but for now, we don’t know,”
he said.
the head of European football
has never disguised the fact that
he voted for Qatar in a move to
help develop football in parts of
the world where the World cup
has never been staged.
Since the vote, he has
campaigned for a switch to hold
the sport’s showcase in the winter
rather than summer months to
avoid the summer heat in the
Gulf region.
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
17
Moyes ready to
resume career
AFP/Patrik Stollarz
D
SPECIAL COLUMN
So-called lesser nations have
been there for everyone to see
Andrew Warshaw
S
OMEtIMES, the pundits
simply get it wrong. When
UEFA President Michel Platini
decided to expand the European
championship finals from 16 to
24 teams, starting in 2016 in his
homeland, most of the so-called
experts threw their collective
arms into the air and accused the
Frenchman of being misguided.
While the champions League
provided such classy entertainment,
the critics said, Platini’s expansion
plans for the Euros simply wouldn’t
work, devaluing the finals and
making a mockery of the qualifying
competition, which runs until
October next year, followed by
November play-offs for the best
third-placed teams.
Yet, take a look at the current
group tables after three rounds and
you see a somewhat surprising
picture.
Gone is the predictability of the
qualifying campaign, replaced by a
series of results that’ve seen world
champions Germany beaten by
Poland and held by Ireland, World
cup semifinalists the Netherlands
twice humbled by supposedly
inferior opposition and once-mighty
Spain still struggling to restore past
glories.
Group A is topped by Iceland with
the Netherlands languishing in
third spot; Group b by Wales, with
star-studded belgium third; Group
c by Slovakia who’re looking down
on Spain; Group D by Poland with
the Germans needing to make up
considerable ground; Group F, after
three straight wins by Northern
Ireland; Group G by Austria.
See what I mean?
It’s, of course, still early days and
there’s plenty of time for the cream
to rise to the top. but there can
only be one reason for so many
perennial also-rans of European
football making such a strong
start: being motivated by having
a genuine chance of reaching the
finals in two years’ time. true,
having France in the draw in order
to simply give them significant tests
when they don’t have to qualify
as hosts, is a useless exercise. but
apart from that, Platini and his team
seem to have made a good call.
A few weeks ago, Platini’s
right-hand man, Gianni Infantino,
justified giving so many teams an
opportunity, insisting the quality
wasn’t being reduced.
“It’s in line with the objectives of
UEFA which’re to develop football
GIANNI INFANTINO
JUSTIFIED GIVING SO
MANY TEAMS AN
OPPORTUNITY.
in Europe. We can move from 16 to
24 because the quality is there in
Europe,” said Infantino.
“Of the top 32 teams in the
world, 20 are European. One of
the criticisms is that some of the
games in the qualifiers become
uncompetitive, but I think we can
see from the very first series of
matches, something that we didn’t
expect. the fact that 24 teams in the
finals can qualify gives a chance to
almost all the teams and this has
brought a whole new dynamic to
the qualifying competition because
everyone, at least at the beginning,
believes they’ve a real chance of
playing in the finals.”
It’s fair point and one that’s hard
to argue against when you look at
what has been happening. the new
structure may not be quite as bad
as first feared. All those complaints
about meaningless fixtures and such
a packed qualifying programme
disrupting domestic leagues
suddenly begins to sound somewhat
hollow. the buzz generated in many
of the continent’s so-called lesser
footballing nations has been there
for all to see and this, of course, was
precisely the point of UEFA’s changes.
In other words, to energise the vast
majority of nations and prevent
them getting ruled out of contention
early on.
In the past, all major powerhouses
have tended to stroll through. that,
ultimately, might happen anyway
a year from now. but the fact that
virtually all nine qualifying groups
already have an element of intrigue
about them is surely what it’s all
about. In fact, it’s hard to recall a
set of qualifiers as compelling as
we’ve had so far.
Yet, one particular match-up was
always likely to end in tears. It seems
inexplicable that UEFA, usually
so sensitive to political tensions,
decided to group Serbia and Albania
together.
the consequence of such folly, as
the world saw last week, was the
game in belgrade being abandoned
after 40 minutes following an ugly
melee sparked by a drone carrying
an Albanian banner accompanied
with a map of Kosovo flying over the
stadium.
the fact is they should never
have been paired together in
the first place and UEFA must be
kicking themselves for allowing it to
happen.
All across Europe, established big
guns — not all of them but a fair
few — found themselves at the
receiving end of an upset, or close
to one.
that’s exactly what UEFA’s
new-look programme was designed
to showcase. Instead, what
happened in belgrade became the
prime talking point, partly because
of an unfortunate own goal by
Europe’s governing body.
ššrepublic of
Ireland’s John
O’Shea celebrates
with team-mates
after scoring an
injury-time goal
against Germany.
David
Moyes
AVID Moyes, who has been out of football
since leaving Manchester United in April,
says he is ready to resume his managerial
career and is waiting for the right club to come
along either in England or overseas.
the 51-year-old Scot, who was at Old trafford
for just 10 months last season, said, “I’m ready to
return. I’ve enjoyed the time off, but I’ve got to wait
on the right job and make sure it’s one that I want.”
Moyes spent 11 years at Everton before moving
to United to succeed Alex Ferguson in the summer
of 2013, but he left in April with United ending up
seventh in the Premier League, the first time they
had finished outside the top three since 1991.
Moyes said, “I’m really ambitious. I would never
have left Everton Fc for anybody, but an ambitious
football club. And I thought Manchester United
would’ve given me that opportunity.
“It didn’t materialise that way, so I’m hoping that
the next club I join gives me the chance to build a
team, because I think that’s what I’m good at.”
While preferring to work in England, he did not
rule out going abroad.
“I’ve had several people contact me about jobs,
but none of them have turned round and said
‘here’s a job — it’s yours.’
“I’ll know when the right club comes along.
I needed a little bit of time just to make sure
that I’m ready and I’m feeling good to go
back,” he said.
Moyes said of the break that he had
“played some great golf courses,
enjoyed a bit of horse racing,
spent a bit of time with the
family so it has been good.”
He added that he had
thought he would get more
support from United when
results started going against him.
“It was really difficult when I lost
the job because I didn’t really see
it coming, even though I had been
losing games.
“I knew that it could be difficult,
but I joined a club that I felt stood
behind their managers, made sure
they supported them in difficult
times. And, you know, Sir Alex
had difficult times when he first
took over.
“And I do understand that the
landscape has changed a little bit
in football, but I think that United
always stood for the right things and
I expected them to do what was right
with me,” he said.
Moyes’s successor Louis van Gaal has
not enjoyed a great start to his United
reign this season either, having lost 3-5
to Leicester city in the Premier League
and 0-4 to League One (third tier) Milton
Keynes Dons in the capital One (League)
cup.
Asked what the reaction would have
been had he been in charge of such
defeats, Moyes said, “I daren’t imagine
what would’ve been said about it. but Louis
van Gaal has got a difficult job as well, just
like I did when I took over and he needs
to be given that opportunity to get his
mark on the team, turn it around.”
18
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
FOOTBALL | INTERNATIONAL
INTERVIEW
Criticism is normal, sa
A
FtEr a string of successes
with Manchester city, David
Silva recently embarked on
his fifth season at the club as one of
the English Premier League’s (EPL)
biggest names. He was also one of
Spain’s diminutive, yet outrageously
gifted midfielders that cemented
La roja’s position in international
football.
Following Spain’s poor show
at the World cup in brazil and
the subsequent retirement of
Xavi Hernandez, Xabi Alonso and
David Villa, the 28-year old is now
expected to play a lead role in the
national team.
In an exclusive interview with
www.fifa.com, Silva spoke on
the fallout from Spain’s World
cup disappointment, the road to
Euro 2016 and the new season in
England.
ЂЂChelsea are five points clear of
Manchester City in the EPL. Can they
AT CHELSEA, COSTA
HAS A VERY GOOD
UNDERSTANDING
WITH FABREGAS.
ЂЂSpain’s World Cup failure
has reopened the debate about
the style. Do you think it’s nonnegotiable or should alternative
methods be considered?
ЃЂWe’ve won two European
championships and one World
cup playing in our style. I think the
idea of changing it doesn’t even
warrant discussion. Having said
that, there’re different phases in
every game that might push you to
try different options, so why not?
ЂЂWhat’s your analysis on Spain’s
failure? Are you bothered by
criticism of your missed chance
against the Netherlands?
ЃЂIt’s complicated to constantly
maintain such a high level as
everyone wants to beat you. In
brazil, other teams played better
than us. It doesn’t bother me that I
came in for criticism for that missed
chance against the Netherlands.
their goalkeeper made a good save
and they ended up putting five
past us. When things don’t pan out
as you like, criticism unavoidably
follows, but you just have to keep
going.
ЂЂAfter returning from Brazil, how
win the title?
ЃЂchelsea are favourites. It’s quite
a while since they’ve won the title.
After strengthening their squad,
they now have a great team. they’ve
also started the season very well,
although city are up there as well.
We’ll have to see if they slip up and if
we can avoid mishaps of our own. At
any rate, I don’t see it as just a
two-horse race as Manchester
United are also getting better while
Arsenal will surely be in the race.
ЂЂDiego Costa has scored nine
David
Silva
goals in seven games for
Chelsea in the EPL. Do you
think his understanding
with Cesc Fabregas will
also work for Spain?
ЃЂcosta’s quick adaptation
hasn’t surprised me. His
attributes suit the style
of play here. Hopefully,
he can score more goals
for Spain. At chelsea,
costa has a very good
understanding with Fabregas.
they’re a side that defend
resolutely and hit you very
quickly on the break. the national
team has a different approach. both
styles suit Fabregas, but costa still
has to get used to it.
did you follow the rest of the World
Cup?
ЃЂInevitably, you hear about it and
watch tV. Sometimes, you catch a
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
ays Silva
game out of the corner of your eye
but, after our elimination, I wanted
to disconnect. I was trying not to
talk too much about the situation. I
didn’t watch the final in its entirety,
but only part of the second half.
ЂЂDoes it feel different to line up
for Spain without the likes of Xavi
or Alonso?
ЃЂWe miss them both on and off
the pitch as we went through so
much with those guys. they’re your
team-mates and your friends, but
that’s just the way life is. It’ll be my
turn to step aside in a few years and
I’ll miss it too. that’s why you’ve
to make the most of it every time
you’re called up. As you get older,
the anticipation is even greater.
As a youngster, I used to see the
veterans absolutely delighted to be
at national team get-togethers, and
now I understand why. You know
that your time is limited and you’ve
to enjoy it.
ЂЂYou’re now one of the veterans
in the Spanish side. How is that
feeling?
ЃЂI’ve been part of the national
team set-up for eight years now. I
played in two complete European
championships, but not much
in the ’10 World cup. I played in
brazil and also at the confederations
cup. As long as I’ve the chance to
play, I’ll give my all, but I don’t think
my role has changed just because
some team-mates have retired. All
that’s changed is that I’m now older.
the youngsters coming through
now are very well prepared. they’re
very good and we’re hoping they
can take the team to the level
necessary to win titles.
ЂЂSpain have beaten Macedonia
and Luxemburg, but lost to
Slovakia in Euro ’16 qualifiers. Do
you feel the team has to win back
the fans’ confidence?
ЃЂthe fans are scrutinising our
performances closely now. At any
rate, criticism is normal. You can
come in for some even if you win,
so imagine what it’s like when you
lose, but we’re not concerned. the
difficulty with these qualifiers is that
you’re expected to win them, but
the reality is that you’re up against
complicated rivals like Slovakia.
We’ll take it one step at a time
and try to do things well and
qualify for the next European
championship.
Del Bosque plans
to quit after Euro 2016
S
PAIN coach Vicente del
Bosque has confirmed that
he plans to stand down after
his team bid for a third successive
triumph at Euro 2016.
“In life, you can’t be absolutely
sure about anything but it’s my
intention to continue until France
’16 and then leave,” said Del
bosque. “In my case, the federation
will make a smooth transition and
my plan is to remain involved in
football and with the federation.”
Del bosque is in the process of
rebuilding the Spain team following
their World cup disappointment in
brazil.
the reigning champions failed to
progress from the group stage and
that led to veterans Xabi Alonso,
Xavi and David Villa announce their
international retirements.
they have begun qualifying for
Euro ’16 with a new youthful side
that has registered two victories
and a loss so far from qualifying
Group c. Spain won the European
championships in ’08 and ’12
playing a quick-passing game and
Del bosque still fully believes it is
the best way.
“We’re helped by the players that
we’ve, but we’re looking for more
depth without losing defensive
solidity.
“Experiments with the national
team are almost impossible as
there’s no margin for error,” he said.
19
‘Gaining European
experience vital’
I
t IS NOt that Juergen Klinsmann
is an expat snob, who thinks the
top European leagues are the
only place for American players to
hone the skills he hopes will take
the United States to the 2018 World
cup semifinal.
but he knows, it is the
unrelenting pressure to perform
in the world’s most competitive
leagues in England, Germany,
Spain, and Italy that will help
forge the quality to make his team
accomplish the goal he has set for
the tournament in russia.
Klinsmann wants to see many of
his players polishing their games in
Europe, a stance that has put him
at odds with the domestic Major
League Soccer (MLS) which wants
to keep the best talent at home
to boost the status of the
18-year-old league.
“Our players who
go to England,
Germany, Spain or
France get used to
the pressure and
criticism if they’ve
a bad game,” said
Klinsmann. “they
hear about it from
the local people in
the supermarket
or at the shops
or in the streets.
the pressure is
everywhere. they’re
used to having to
justify themselves for
their performance all the
time. Shifting that into
the United States would
be a huge step and is high
on our wish list for the
future.”
Klinsmann, who helped
lead West Germany to the
1990 World cup, admits he
loves living in sunny southern
california.
but he knows the
round-the-clock pressures of
playing in the world’s toughest
leagues in Europe are a priceless
proving ground.
For the 50-year-old former
Germany captain, a coach with
a penchant for stirring things
up ever since he guided his
country to the 2006 World cup
semifinal, there is no substitute
for the constant pressure.
“We would like to build on
the energy created by the
World cup in brazil to make
people understand we need
a system of accountability.
“If an MLS player has
a bad game, we want them to be
accountable for that. We want them
to be pestered and bothered by the
people in the supermarket or the
baker or the butcher because that’s
the way people react to the game all
over the world,” he said.
It is highly unlikely that the game
will ever become No.1 in the US with
the lure of established sports like
basketball, baseball and American
football.
but Klinsmann, US coach and
technical Director since ’11, believes
the country has tremendous
untapped potential and cites the
unexpectedly positive reaction to the
team’s run in brazil.
that came despite the fact he
was widely criticised before the
tournament for warning that his
team was not ready to win the
trophy, an honest statement but one
which Americans considered heresy.
“I’m really happy with everything
that gives people a connection to
soccer. I think it’s really important
that people see the emotion of
WE WOULD LIKE TO BUILD
ON THE ENERGY CREATED
BY THE WORLD CUP
IN BRAZIL.
the sport. At the World cup, we
won a lot of people over in the
United States who were never
before connected emotionally to it.
that’s the beauty of football. It’s
a very emotional game and that’s
what really fascinated a lot of
Americans,” said Klinsmann.
He has also stirred controversy in
the US with his call to introduce a
promotion and relegation system
to the top three leagues, but he
has enjoyed his first three years as
national coach.
“Personally, I’m having a blast,”
he said.
One area that Klinsmann, who
has led the United States to 33
wins in 57 matches, thinks needs
improving is his players’ attitude.
“When we face big countries,
I think we’re still a little bit
intimidated,” he said, even
though the US have beaten Italy,
Germany and won in Mexico since
Klinsmann took up the reins.
“there’s a bit too much respect
for the big names. I think we need
to kind of loosen up on that. We
need to have respect, yes, but
also have the courage to go eyeto-eye with the big nations,” he
explained.
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
SERGIO
AGUERO
22
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
ATHLETICS
RIO ON RAD
INCHEON ASIAN GAMES 1,500 AND
5,000M GOLD MEDALLIST MOHAMMED
AL GARNI OF QATAR SETS HIS SIGHTS
ON A MEDAL AT THE 2016 RIO OLYMPIC
GAMES, WRITES AJU GEORGE CHRIS.
Q
AtAr’S Mohammed Al
Garni, who turned 22
in July, created quite
a flutter at the Incheon
Asian Games recently.
He first raced to
a comfortable
victory in
1,500M and
then stunned
the field en route
to winning the
5,000M with a new Asian Games
record. What made the achievement
even more impressive was that it
was his first-ever try in the longer
distance.
On the track, Al Garni expresses
his emotions freely. At Incheon, if he
OUR TARGET, RIGHT
FROM THE START OF THE
SEASON, WAS TO DO WELL
IN SOUTH KOREA.
Mutaz among three
shortlisted for top award
Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim, who cleared 2.43M at the
brussels Diamond League meet in September to become
the second highest jumper of all time, has now been
shortlisted as one of the three contenders for the IAAF
Athlete of the Year award. Kenyan marathon runner
Dennis Kipruto Kimetto and French pole vaulter renaud
Lavillenie are the others.
Among women, the competition will be between New
Zealand shot putter Valerie Adams, Dutch sprinter Dafne
Schippers and Ethiopian distance runner Genzebe Dibaba.
the award will be presented during the IAAF Gala in
Monte carlo, Monaco, on November 21.
şşMohammed
Al Garni raises his
hand to celebrate
the 1,500M
triumph.
was a bag of nerves before the race,
he jumped for joy after convincingly
beating the chasing pack.
When Doha Stadium Plus caught
up with him last week, he was
calm, composed and confidence
personified.
“It was a great experience. Our
target, right from the start of the
season, was to do well in South
Korea. We had prepared for it
meticulously. Since the Asian Games
were held late in the season, a long
time after regular competitions got
over, I had to be careful not to peak
too soon,” said Al Garni.
“If you’re at your best in May
or June, you simply can’t sustain
the momentum until October. So
I deliberately started my outdoor
season late. I didn’t compete in too
many races and ran just three — the
Diamond League meet in Qatar, the
Gugl Games in Austria and the IAAF
challenge Meeting in Spain — prior
to Incheon,” he said.
In February, Al Garni had won
gold in 1,500 and 3,000M races at
the Asian Indoor championships in
Hangzhou, china. that gave him the
confidence to take a calculated risk at
Incheon, which paid big dividends.
“Usually, 5,000 is considered a
big gamble for someone who is
used to 1,500. but the example of
burundian Venuste Niyongabo, who
won 5,000M gold at the ’96 Atlanta
Olympics after switching from the
shorter version, motivated me,” said
Al Garni.
“After winning double gold in
china, I had complete confidence in
my endurance and decided to run
5,000. In fact, I’ll concentrate on it a
bit more in the coming seasons. My
aim is to win a medal for Qatar at
the ’16 rio Olympics.
“I’ll concentrate on the 800
and 1,500M at the IAAF World
championships in Shanghai, china,
next year as I’ve good speed over
those distances. I want to focus on
getting fast timings and finishing
among the world’s top five. Side
by side, I’ll work on improving my
endurance ahead of rio. I don’t want
to make any mistake in 5,000M at
the Games,” he added.
He dismissed the controversy at
Incheon over the presence of Africaborn athletes at Asian events.
“I’m not an African athlete. I’m a
Qatari. I eat, drink and breathe as a
Qatari. Once I started representing
the country in ’09, I’ve become its
citizen. No one can take that status
away from me. I don’t believe
in people’s complaints about us
competing in Asian events,” he
said.
» The writer can be contacted at:
[email protected]
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
23
“I’m glad we won the trophy yet another time.
but this year, we’re more happy as we faced stiff
competition from El Jaish. We’ll continue to strive
hard and set new standards in the next season.
AL GARNI ON…
HIS FAMILY
I’m the eldest of five children.
I’ve three brothers — Younis, Aziz
and Hamad, and a sister, Fathima.
they’re all focusing on their studies
at the moment. I’m the only one
in the family who has taken up
sports as a career. I don’t know if my
siblings will follow my path, but I’ll
help them if they do.
START IN ATHLETICS
I started competing in track and
field as a 14-year-old while still at
school. Earlier, I was a goalkeeper in
my school football team. but then,
I felt I wasn’t performing to my true
potential. Since I always loved track
and field, I decided to give it a try. I
proved to be really good in running.
I’m happy I took that decision.
FOCUS
I love what I’m doing and I want to
be famous. Once the season
is over and I’ve free
time, I do whatever
I want. but when
the season is
Mohammed
Al Garni
on, I’ll focus only on my sport. I’ve
promised myself that I’ll never stray
in my thoughts while training.
MOVE TO QATAR
Even as a school kid, I knew I was
talented. A lot of people took note
of my runs. Qatari middle and
long distance legend Mohammed
Suleiman too heard about me. He
assessed my skills and helped me
get an opportunity to represent
Qatar. I’m forever grateful to him.
ROLE MODEL
Kenya-born American athlete
bernard Lagat is my hero. He’s a
very good person. He had quite a
long and successful international
career. I like his style. He’s always
smiling and who wouldn’t love
him?
‘Qatar unfairly
targeted over
naturalisation’
AWARDEES
Qatar Athletics Federation
chief Dahlan Al Hamad was
critical of the controversy over
the presence of
Africa-born athletes, mainly
fielded by bahrain and Qatar,
at the recent Incheon Asian
Games.
“there’ll always be people
who make excuses when they
fail to get good results. One
thing we’ve to
understand
is that
even big
countries,
who
don’t
have
chances to
win medals in
certain disciplines, do
the same thing. It isn’t fair
to target us when we do the
same,” said Dahlan, who also
heads the Asian Athletics
Association.
“We respect and follow
the rules set down by the
International Olympic
committee and International
Association of Athletics
Federations. One can’t restrict
people from leaving their own
country for another in search
of a better life. As long as
there’s no violation of rules,
we’ll keep recruiting athletes
who we see necessary,” he
added.
Nigeria-born Femi Seun
Ogunode had given Qatar
a sprint double while
Mohammed Al Garni, of
Moroccan origin, won gold in
1,500 and 5,000M.
Abubaker Ali Kamal,
who triumphed in 3,000M
steeplechase, is a Sudani by
birth.
Ashraf Amjad
Mohammed
MINI CADETS
rUNNING Hitmi Khalifa Ahmed
JUMPS
Hassan Jahidul Komar
tHrOWS Abdullah Ahmad Al Saqa
CADETS
rUNNING Abdul Jaleel rashed Al Mannai
JUMPS
Nooh Abdul Khader
tHrOWS Jean claude George
YOUTH
rUNNING Abdulrahman Jassim
JUMPS
Abdulrahman Mohammed Saeed
tHrOWS Aiman Sadallah/Khalifa Mansour
JUNIOR
rUNNING Abubaker Haider
JUMPS
Nasser Salem Abdul Wahid
tHrOWS Ashraf Amjad Mohammed
SENIOR
rUNNING tosin Seun Ogunode
JUMPS
Mutaz Essa barshim
tHrOWS Ali Mohammed Zangakawi
Al Arabi
Al Wakrah
Al Khor
Al Sadd
Al rayyan
Qatar Sc
El Jaish
Al Sadd
El Jaish/Al Khor
Al Arabi
Al Khor
Al Gharafa
Al Gharafa
Al rayyan
Al Gharafa
QAF fetes season’s
best performers
T
HE Qatar Athletics Federation
(QAF) recognised the
country’s best athletes and
administrators during a glittering
season-ending ceremony held in
Doha last week.
Special awards were given
to athletes who did well at the
Incheon Asian Games. Outstanding
DOMESTICALLY, ALL CLUBS
BECAME MORE ACTIVE
AND CHALLENGED
AL SADD’S DOMINANCE.
performers on the domestic scene
were also honoured.
Al Sadd, who have been doing
consistently well over the last
decade, were chosen as the best
club. Eissa Al Harami, who recently
replaced sprint legend talal
Mansour as the team manager,
received the trophy from QAF
President Dahlan Al Hamad.
DSP/Mohan
DAR
Eissa Al Harami, Al Sadd team manager.
ššIncheon Asian Games medal winners with QAF officials.
“I’m glad we won the trophy
yet another time. but this year,
we’re more happy as we faced stiff
competition from El Jaish. We’ll
continue to strive hard and set new
standards in the next season,” said
Al Harami.
the QAF chief too sounded a
very happy man.
“Our athletes did well this
season and they got a spate of
good results at the national and
international levels. Domestically,
all clubs became more active
and started to challenge Al
Sadd’s dominance. that’s very
encouraging. Many national
records were also broken and
that points to an overall rise in
standard,” said Dahlan.
“Next year, our athletes will
aim to put up strong shows at the
Asian (Kobe, Japan, in July) and
IAAF World championships (beijing,
china, in August). Our aim is to help
them perform well at the ’16 rio
Olympic Games,” he added.
24
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
BASKETBALL
Future
tense!
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
QATAR BASKETBALL FEDERATION’S
FORMER TECHNICAL EXPERT
AND RENOWNED TELEVISION
COMMENTATOR MOUSTAFA M DIAB TELLS
AJU GEORGE CHRIS ABOUT THE GAME IN
THE COUNTRY, ITS PROGRESS THROUGH
THE DECADES AND UNCERTAIN FUTURE.
E
GYPtIAN Moustafa M Diab was
the go-to man for anything
related to Qatar basketball until
around two years ago.
Diab, who first came to the
country as Al rayyan coach in 1982,
was appointed as the
Qatar basketball Federation’s
(QbF) technical Expert a year
later.
A former player, Diab still
passionately follows the game in
Qatar and is a commentator on the
Al Dawri & Al Kass channel.
In an exclusive interview with
Doha Stadium Plus, he spoke about
the game in the country, its progress
through the decades and the
uncertain future.
ЂЂHow were your initial days in
Qatar?
ЃЂI came here in ’82 to coach Al
rayyan, but stayed with them only
for one season. Soon after that, the
QbF appointed me as its technical
Expert. I remained in that post
until ’96, after which I took a
four-year break for personal
reasons. My second stint ran
from 2001 until ’12.
ЂЂHow was the game’s
standard at that time?
ЃЂIn ’82, there were seven club
sides in the Qatar League —
rayyan, Al Sadd, Qatar Sports
club, Al Arabi, Al Nahda, Al
Wakrah and Al Ahli. they were
exclusively made up of Qatari
players and two professionals,
mostly American. they trained
hard and gave their best. but the
Kuwaitis and Saudi Arabians were
always far ahead of us.
the main reason for this was that
we didn’t have a single national
team player over 2M tall. It severely
hampered our effectiveness.
Although club sides were fairly
competitive, the national team
wasn’t. Our results at the Gcc, Arab
and Asian championships were
mediocre.
the first time we competed in the
FIbA Asia championship, in ’91, we
finished 16th.
ЂЂSo when did the naturalisation of
African players begin?
ЃЂthe first time we gave Qatari
citizenship to a player was in ’89, to
Somalia-born Yasseen Moussa. He
still captains the national team and
that speaks volumes about his talent.
In basketball, height and strength
mean everything. We required
strong centre players to win games.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, with a
PRESENT-DAY CHILDREN
CAN’T SURVIVE IN
A TEAM GAME LIKE
BASKETBALL.
much larger population to choose
from, had them aplenty.
the QbF has always been
ambitious. there came a point in
time when we couldn’t progress
any further without tall players. We
couldn’t shy away from regional and
international competitions. that’s
why we started the naturalisation
drive for young, tall and athletic
African players. We carefully
followed FIbA’s naturalisation rules
while doing so.
ЂЂBut didn’t it affect the flow of
Qatari players into the national
side? They’re almost non-existent
now…
ЃЂYes, it did affect the flow, but
was naturalisation the only reason
for it? Unlikely. the Qatari society
has changed completely. Earlier,
sports used to be the only way for
youth to spend their time and lead a
good life. but now, they’ve so many
distractions. Who’s interested in
sports now?
Earlier, children didn’t give too
much importance to education.
that too has changed. they
frequently go outside the country
for studies. So there’s a shortage of
quality players. For example, four
Qataris, who were with Wakrah last
season, left for studies abroad. Now,
they don’t have a single national
player in their ranks. What can one
do? And basketball isn’t the most
popular game in Qatar.
ЂЂWhat should be done to attract
more kids to basketball?
ЃЂthere’s no single solution.
there’re many factors that should
work together for us in order to
overcome the problem.
Most young boys today are
interested in pursuing football. And
with Qatar hosting the 2022 FIFA
World cup, even more are heading
that way. A few basketball players
too have jumped ship.
Present-day children are mostly
overweight due to the unhealthy
fast-food culture. they can’t survive
in a team game like basketball as it
requires them to jump up high and
run fast.
but on the positive side, things
are slowly changing. there’re now
10 teams in the league, including
relative newcomers El Jaish, Al
Shamal and Al Khor. Al Gharafa
replaced Nahda several years ago.
Each of these teams have seven
coaches for various age-group sides.
And they’re very well paid. this was
unlike a few years ago, when they
had to be satisfied with two. Now
the onus is on clubs to find talent.
ЂЂLast season, four professional
players were allowed in a team...
ЃЂI’m totally against increasing the
number of professionals in domestic
tournaments. It gives Qatar national
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
25
“this is a proud moment for us as we once
again proved we’re the best in the region. I
congratulate coach Vasilis Fragias on a job well
done. We’re all proud of the team.
Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, President,
Qatar basketball Federation.
ЂЂHow much has the Schools
Olympic Programme (SOP) helped?
ЃЂthere’re basketball games at
the SOP. but one has to understand
3X3 MAY BE A MASS
SPORT, BUT IT TINKERS A
LOT WITH THE GAME’S
FUNDAMENTALS.
that a majority of those players also
compete in the QbF’s various
age-group leagues. So there’re
really no new talents being
unearthed.
I feel there’s a need to overhaul
the country’s sports education
system. Qualified and experienced
physical education teachers should
be appointed and clinics should be
organised for them. As of now, most
of them are unaware of FIbA rules
or don’t know how to scientifically
teach the game. If they don’t know
it in the first place, how can we
expect the children to learn?
ЂЂQatar recently became the FIBA
3x3 world champions. How much
of an impact will it have on the
domestic game?
ЃЂI feel 3x3 is just street basketball.
It may be a mass sport, but it tinkers
a lot with the fundamentals of the
game. there’s not much strategy
involved and it’s all about who
can play higher intensity games
over short periods of time more
effectively.
It may be fine for over-aged
players, but I don’t think it’ll do any
good for youngsters. Personally, I’m
not a big fan of it.
Qatar knew what the rules were,
why did they send their players?
FIbA officials say if Indonesia and
Malaysia, two of the world’s biggest
Muslim countries, can send their
women players to international
competitions without the hijab,
then why can’t Qatar do so?
FIbA doesn’t allow women to
wear hijab because it’s likely to
endanger rival players. basketball
is the only game where six or seven
players jump for one ball at the same
time, under very limited space. It’s
different from other games.
If you want to play, do so
according to FIbA rules. If not, just
stay home.
ЂЂWhy aren’t more home-grown
coaches coming up?
ЃЂWe’ve tried hard to bring former
players back as coaches, but it hasn’t
succeeded. Former Qatari players
still don’t trust professional coaching
jobs. One can’t blame them. In Qatar,
you start with a club side, lose a few
games in a row and you tend to get
fired. there’s no job security. Midseason, you may be left without the
prospect of joining another team. No
local coaches would be willing to put
their reputation on the line.
However, there’re several Qataris,
like Gharafa’s Mohammed Al
Suwaidi, Sadd’s Khalid Al Mughanne,
rayyan’s Khalid Sulaiman and Qatar
Sc’s Saeed Waleed, who are assistant
coaches. they’re all very well paid
for their services. Al Mughanne is
at present attending a three-month
coaching clinic in the US.
ЂЂIs players’ indiscipline a problem
at clubs?
ЃЂYes, definitely. If you look at the
teams’ training sessions, you can see
professional players all arrive ahead
of time while Qatari and Qatar-based
players take their
own sweet time. there’s very
little the QbF can do to discipline
them.
the clubs have written contracts
with all players. So they should
ideally take stringent action. but
they’re scared because most local
players are well off financially
and what if they just turn around
and leave? they won’t have players
to replace them. So clubs are often
at players’ mercy. It’s a sad situation,
but I don’t see a way out.
Qatar retain Gulf title
Q
AtAr clinched their fifth Gulf
title by beating bahrain
86-63 in their last roundrobin match in Dammam, Saudi
Arabia, last Monday.
Qatar, who remained unbeaten
throughout the tournament, opened
their campaign with a 78-53
win over Kuwait before
steamrollering Oman
75-49. they then
outplayed
two-time
champions UAE 71-53 and overcame
the hosts 71-66.
Qatar were made to sweat by
bahrain in the first quarter, but
still finished it with a three-point
advantage (23-20). Qatar steadily
improved in the second and third
quarters, and pulled ahead (50-32
and 70-42).
US-born boney Watson and
captain Yasseen Moussa were
in great form while Mansour El
Hadari and Hassan Mohamed also
impressed as Qatar retained the title.
Qatar and bahrain, who finished
second, automatically qualified for
the 2015 FIbA Asia cup, to be held
in china.
Qatar basketball Federation
President Sheikh Saoud bin
Abdulrahman Al thani congratulated
the players.
“this is a proud moment for us
as we once again proved we’re the
best in the region. I’m sure we’ll
do well in china next year. We’ll
support the players all the way. I
congratulate coach Vasilis Fragias on
a job well done. We’re all proud of
the team,” said Sheikh Saoud, who
is also Secretary General of the Qatar
Olympic committee.
» The writer can be contacted at:
[email protected]
ЂЂWhat’re your comments on
the hijab controversy at the Asian
Games?
ЃЂIt was totally unnecessary. If
šЂMembers of the
victorious Qatar
team with QbF and
other officials.
Moustafa
M Diab
DSP/Vinod Divakaran
team members far less chances to
compete. Last season, only three
professionals were allowed to
play at a time. but unfortunately,
even the team’s other two starters
needn’t be Qatar internationals.
Since we don’t have enough
Qatari players in age-group leagues,
the QbF has passed a ruling that
those who’ve lived here for four
years can play in clubs as Qataris.
but they won’t have the right to
represent the country. Even in
the senior club teams, they get
more preference over older Qatar
internationals. So it was a huge step
backwards for the national team.
reducing the number of
professionals will force Qatari clubs
to look for local talent. they’ll be
pushed to field Qatar internationals
more and this’ll strengthen the
national side.
26
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
MOTORSPORT
SONS OF SPEE
MATHIAS LAUDA AND FREDDIE HUNT RACING TOGETHER BRINGS BACK THE MEMORIES OF THE LEGENDARY
BATTLE BETWEEN THEIR ILLUSTRIOUS FATHERS NIKI AND JAMES, WRITES SAJITH B WARRIER.
T
O bOrrOW the oft-repeated
cliche, Mathias Lauda and
Freddie Hunt took to racing
just like duck to water. but unlike
their illustrious fathers Austrian Niki
Lauda and James Hunt, who were
involved in a legendary battle for
the 1976 Formula One world title
which the briton won, the ‘sons of
speed’ have not exactly made it big
in the sport.
While Mathias is content with
touring cars and NAScAr Whelen
Euroseries, Freddie is now keen on
making a name for himself in the
endurance races.
the opening round of the
MrF challenge Formula 2000
championship at the Losail
International circuit last week saw
Mathias and Freddie race together
for the first time, for the M&N racing
team.
the single-seater one-make car
series was a far cry from the Formula
One, where Niki and James fought
vehemently in the late ’70s, but
Mathias and Freddie proved speed
thrills them just like it did to their
fathers.
“to me, racing is one of the best
sports in the world. It’s the survival
of the fittest. If you’ve the passion,
go for it,” said Freddie, after finishing
seventh in race 1.
His sentiments were echoed by
Mathias.
“Driving is fun and enjoy the sport
as long as you love it,” he said.
the results took a backseat as the
duo’s reunion became the paddock
talk.
Just like their fathers, Mathias
and Freddie are a study in contrast.
While the Austrian looked a picture
of concentration throughout the
event, Freddie, like Hunt Sr, who was
the first poster boy of Formula One,
looked at ease with his casanova
persona.
but one thing the duo shares is
respect for each other.
TO ME, RACING IS ONE
OF THE BEST SPORTS
IN THE WORLD.
Mathias
Lauda
as a bane.
“I wouldn’t have been racing if
not for being James’s son. but when
I was younger, I was under a lot of
pressure and couldn’t live up to the
expectations,” said Freddie, who is
eyeing the gruelling 24 Hours of Le
Mans endurance race in France.
the safety aspect in motor sports
has always been a grey area and Niki
had survived a life-threatening head
injury in the ’76 German Grand Prix.
James won that controversial race at
Nurburgring in which many drivers
had expressed reservations about
the safety.
Safety was back in focus after
French driver Jules bianchi suffered a
horrific crash at the recent Japanese
Grand Prix.
but like his father James, who
took F1 to a different level with his
dare-devilry, Freddie feels accidents
are part of racing.
“bianchi accident was a terrible
tragedy. It’s sad, you can’t help it. but
I think racing is a dangerous sport
and accidents will happen. During
my father’s days, two to three deaths
used to happen every year in F1
alone.
“there hasn’t been a major
accident in F1 since Ayrton Senna’s
tragic death in 1994. that means
no casualty for 20 years. the safety
standards have improved,” he said.
Mathias, who was initially
asked not to take up the sport by
Niki himself because of the risks
involved, took a more diplomatic
view.
“risk is always there in the sport.
Some drivers will take more risks
than others. Safety measures
should improve all the time and
there can’t be any compromise over
it,”
he said.
“there’s no rivalry between us. We
get along quite well,” said the two,
who have no qualms over not being
able to compete in F1.
“I’m 33 and I know the sport isn’t
getting any younger. I’m too old for
F1. but it isn’t the end of my career. I
decided to go in a different direction
and I’m happy with what I’m doing,”
said Mathias.
For Freddie, who is six years
younger than Mathias, having an
illustrious surname is a boon as well
Man behind the scenes
I
t WOULD be quite fair to call Jose
Pottamkulam as the man behind
the scenes. the M&N racing club
owner is the brain behind bringing
Mathias Lauda and Freddie Hunt
to Doha for the MrF Formula 2000
championship series.
Jose, inspired by Hollywood flick
‘rush’ which was based on the rivalry
between their legendary fathers
Niki Lauda and James Hunt, is also
producing a documentary film on
Mathias and Freddie.
the script of the documentary,
titled ‘The sons of speed’, will be
written as the championship
progresses and the climax will be
based on the final results.
“It was Freddie who came up with
the idea of contesting in the MrF
Formula 2000 championship series.
When he spoke to me, I told him
that I’m ready if he can bring Mathias
on board. Freddie himself contacted
Mathias and the dream became a
reality,” recalled Jose.
Jose believes the proposed
documentary, which will also include
interviews with other members of
the racing fraternity and a couple of
historians, will help people connect
more with second-generation drivers.
“rush captured the lives of Nikki
and James and through ‘The sons of
speed’, I want people to know more
about their sons. they may not be
big names like their fathers, but the
public would definitely be interested
in knowing about their bonding and
lifestyles. Since they’re competing
for my team, it would be easier to
capture the frames,” he said.
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
ED!
Cudlin starts title
defence in style
A
ššNasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah talks to Vicky chandhok.
QMMF chief happy
with MRF tie-up
B
RESULTS
DSP/Vinod Divakaran
Freddie
Hunt
QATAR SUPERBIKES
RACE 1
1. Alexander cudlin
31:02.030
2. Mishal Al Naimi
at 3.19
3. Nasser Al Malki
14.9
RACE 2
1. Alexander cudlin
32:10.506
2. Mishal Al Naimi
at 0.28
3. Nasser Al Malki
22.38
MRF CHALLENGE
RACE 1
1. toby Sowery (Gbr)
30:19.592
2. ryan cullen (Gbr)
at 18.7
3. Kyle Mitchell (rSA)
20.4
RACE 2
1. tarun reddy (IND)
30:26.5
2. Nikita Mazepin (rUS)
1.65
3. toby Sowery (Gbr)
4.4
RACE 3
1. raj bharath (IND)
30:33.3
2. Kyle Mitchell (rSA)
0.32
3. toby Sowery (Gbr
1.21
RACE 4
1. toby Sowery (Gbr)
30:28.2
2. raj bharath (IND)
0.21
3. ryan cullen (Gbr)
4.8
27
UOYED by the success of the
MrF challenge Formula 2000
championship, the Qatar
Motor and Motorcycle Federation
(QMMF) is exploring the possibility
of developing the series in the
region.
the MrF challenge features
Formula 2000 race cars made in
India which strictly comply with
FIA safety standards and runs on
slick and wet tyres.
QMMF President Nasser bin
Khalifa Al Attiyah held talks with
MrF challenge Formula 2000
championship chairman Vicky
chandhok on the sidelines of the
opening round held in Losail.
“It’s an honour to host this event
for the first time in Qatar. the
tie-up with MrF has just started
and we hope to strengthen our
relationship in future by hosting
more events,” said Al Attiyah, who
is also one of the Vice-Presidents
of FIA.
“We know that we’ve the
resources to promote
this sport and we
need to work
together closely
towards achieving
this goal. We’ve
many Asian riders
competing in the Losail Asian road
racing Series and now we’ve one
in Qatar Superbikes championship
also.”
the single-seater racing series,
comprising three legs and 12 races,
will now move to bahrain’s Sakhir
UStrALIAN Alexander Cudlin began his
title defence in style by winning both races
in the first round of the Qatar Superbikes
championship.
Local rider Mishal Al Naimi came second in both
races while compatriots Saeed Al Sulaiti and Nasser
Al Malki finished third in a race each.
“Happy to start the season with two emphatic
wins. the quality of racing in Qatar Superbikes
championship has gone up and the increased
number of riders on the grid bears testimony to it,”
said the Kawasaki ZX10r rider.
Mishal, who was the Qatar Superbikes champion
from 2004 to ’09, also sounded upbeat about his
chances for the season.
“two runner-up finishes in the season opener
isn’t bad! I want to thank Ooredoo for extending its
support for another season. For sure, this season will
be better than last year,” said Mishal.
the next round will be held on November 2 along
with World Superbike championship’s final leg.
WE’VE MANY ASIAN
RIDERS COMPETING IN
THE LOSAIL ASIAN ROAD
RACING SERIES.
circuit where the second round will
be held on November 14 and 15.
the series will wind up at the
Madras Motor Sports club (MMSc)
track in chennai, India, on January
24 and 25.
“I’m really happy to have the
series in Qatar. thanks to Nasser
bin Khalifa Al Attiyah for all his
efforts to make this
happen. We’re really
looking forward to
have more events in
the future for the benefit
of motor sports in the
region,” said chandhok,
who is also VicePresident of
MMSc.
Jaffar
reigns
supreme
Kuwait’s Mohammed Jaffar, riding a Honda, began the
season with a bang by winning both races in the opening
round of the Losail Motocross championship.
His compatriot Meshari Shaibah finished second while
South Africa’s Le roy botha brought up the last spot on the
podium.
botha had dominated the qualifying session, but Jaffar
proved too good in the race which featured 15 riders.
the podium had an identical look in race 2 as well.
“I would like to dedicate my first win of the season to my
coach Mohammed Al balooshi. I’m looking ahead to the
rest of the season with full of confidence,” said Jaffar.
Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation board member
Sultan Al Morraikhi awarded the winners.
28
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
MIXED ZONE | QATAR
֫ CRICKET
Big chance for Qatar
and Iran are the other countries
playing. though the UAE had
initially expressed interest to
compete, they pulled out due
Sajith B Warrier
Q
Ţşthe QcA and
other officials at the
Press conference.
AtArI colts will rub
shoulders with some of the
best teams in the region at
the Asian cricket council’s (Acc)
Under-16 Elite tournament, which
gets under way on Wednesday.
the five-nation 40-over-a-side
event will be played in round-robin
format, with matches to be held
at the West End Park Stadium and
Mesaieed Industrial city ground.
“Apart from the hosts,
Afghanistan, Kuwait, Hong Kong
EACH TEAM WOULD BE
REQUIRED TO FIELD
FIVE NATIONALS.
to domestic reasons,” said Acc
Development Officer Iqbal
Sikander while addressing a Press
conference.
the West End Park Stadium has
already hosted the International
Women’s tri-Series, featuring
Pakistan, South Africa and Ireland,
in January while it would be the
Mesaieed venue’s first taste of
international cricket.
“We thank the Qatar Olympic
committee (QOc), West End Park
Group chairman Mana Ibrahim Al
Mana and Industrial cities business
Manager Abdulaziz Al Obaidly for
providing us with the necessary
support,” said QcA General
Secretary Manzoor Ahmed.
With the winners qualifying for
the Acc Premier tournament, much
is at stake for Qatar, led by Mirza
Hamad.
“cricket is growing fast in
Qatar. the overwhelming
success of the tri-series held
in January proved that. We’ll
provide the QcA with all help
needed,” said Eisa Ali Ghanem, who
is in charge of cricket at the QOc.
As per the Acc norms, each team
would be required to field five
nationals in the playing XI.
“Depending on the success of
this tournament, we’re keen to
explore the possibility of having
bigger events like the International
cricket council’s Under-19 World
cup qualifiers and Acc t20
championship,” added Sikander.
TEAMS
Qatar
Afghanistan
Hong Hong
Iran
Kuwait
SCHEDULE
Wednesday, October 22
Thursday, October 23
Friday, October 24
Saturday, October 25
DSP/Vinod Divakaran
Sunday, October 26
Monday, October 27
Tuesday, October 28
֫ HORSERACING
Sraab starts in style
Turflight
M
OHAMMED Kazim Al
Ansari and Sons-owned
Sraab staved off a stiff
challenge from Aseer to win the Al
Hamla cup at the Qatar racing and
Equestrian club last week. Sraab,
trained by Ahmed Kobeissi and
brilliantly ridden by jockey Salim
Golam, won by half a length in the
first feature event of the season.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin
Ahmed Al thani-owned Dhalyek Al
Naif (Marvin Suerland up) shed his
maiden status with a comfortable
victory in the Pure Arabian
Maiden Plate. coming from way
off the pace, the Yousef bentaher
trainee displayed fine form with a
scintillating run in the final furlong
to record his first career win in
seven starts. Al Zubara Al Sakab was
second, ahead of taghya.
Suerland went on to win astride
Peter Mac and Sefaat to start the
season on a glorious note. Zohair
Moghsen-schooled Peter Mac was
a runaway winner of the lower
division of the thoroughbred
THE YOUSEF BENTAHER
TRAINEE DISPLAYED
FINE FORM.
conditions race while Suerland
had to use all the resources at
his command to steer Sefaat to
victory in the upper division of the
thoroughbred conditions race, run
over seven furlongs.
In another exciting finish, the Al
Jeryan Stud’s Slimane overhauled
Al Safi to win the Pure Arabian
condition race for four-year-olds.
RESULTS
Race 1
Race 2
Race 3
Race 4
Dhalyek Al Naif (Marvin Suerland) 1,
Al Zubara Al Sakab 2, taghta 3, Istara
4. Won by: 1/2, 3/4, 3/4. time: 1:32.79.
trained by: Yousef bentaher. Owned by:
Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Ahmed
Al thani.
Maazouz (Darren Williams) 1, Khalfa
2, Nahla 3, Heytham 4. Won by: 1.2,
3/4, 2. time: 1:44.30. trained by:
Mohammed rashid Al Kuwari. Owned
by: Mubarak Saeed Aljafal Al Naimi.
Substantiate (Yanis Aouabed) 1, Late
Debate 2, Hi Holy 3, Keene 4. Won by:
1 1/2, Hd, 1/2. time: 1:35.50. trained
by: Jassim Al Ghazali. Owned by: Jasim
Mohammed Al Ghazali and Sons.
Peter Mac (Marvin Suerland) 1, roman
Legend 2, rasheeda 3, Kalahari
Kingdom 4. Won by: 5, 3/4, 2 1/2. time:
1:21.70. trained by: Zohair Moghsen.
Owned by: Hussain Ali bukanan.
Sefaat (Marvin Suerland) 1, bajan
beauty 2, Lady chantily 3, captain
cleo 4. Won by: Nk, Nk, Hd. time:
Race 5
1:22.76. trained by: Mohammed
Hamad Al Attiya. Owned by:
Mohammed Abdulla Al Attiya.
Slimane (O’Shea) 1, Al Safi 2, Maksab
3, Seif Ennar 4. Won by: Nk, 5, 6.
Race 6 time: 1:30.13. trained by: Mohanad
Al Yaqout. Owned by: Al Jeryan Stud.
Fanunalter (Marco Monteriso) 1,
Sandbetweenourtoes 2, Hearts Of
Race 7 Stone 3, Elwazeer 4. Won by: Shd,
3/4, 1 1/2. time: 1:22.01. Owned and
trained by: Abdulaziz Ali Al Qaithri.
Sraab (Salim Golam) 1, Aseer 2, Al
Mansoor 3, Moaddie 4. Won by:
Race 8 1/2, 3, 1/2. time: 1:36.20. trained
by: Ahmed Kobeissi. Owned by:
Mohammed Kazim Al Ansari & Sons.
Qatar vs Iran
West End Park Stadium, 3pm.
Afghanistan vs Iran
Mesaieed Industrial city Ground, 9.40am
Hong Kong vs Kuwait
West End Park Stadium, 3pm.
Qatar vs Hong Kong
Mesaieed Industrial city Ground, 9.40am
Afghanistan vs Kuwait
West End Park Stadium, 3pm.
rest day
Iran vs Kuwait
Mesaieed Industrial city Ground, 9.40am.
Qatar vs Afghanistan,
West End Park Stadium, 3pm.
Qatar vs Kuwait
Mesaieed Industrial city Ground, 9.40am.
Hong Kong vs Iran
West End Park Stadium, 3pm.
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong,
Mesaieed Industrial city Ground, 9.40am.
Charm Spirit
soars at Ascot
HH Sheikh Abdullah bin
Khalifa Al thani-owned
charm Spirit won the
Queen Elizabeth II Stakes
at Ascot, United Kingdom,
last Sunday.
It was the third
consecutive Group I
victory for charm Spirit,
which ran in Umm Qarn
colours and was ridden
by Olivier Peslier, who last
week signed a contract for
Sheikh Abdullah.
the QIPcO-sponsored
Queen Elizabeth II Stakes
marked the climax of the
European season for the
top milers and charm
Spirit’s win made him the
best three-year European
horse over the distance.
şşHH Sheikh
Abdullah bin
Khalifa Al thani
after receiving the
trophy from Queen
Elizabeth.
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
Sara shines
at Asian Para
Games
29
Qatar’s Sara Masood won the shot put
gold medal at the Asian Para Games
in Incheon, South Korea, last Sunday.
Abdulrahman Abdulgader also did the
country proud by winning bronze in
men’s javelin throw.
֫ SHOOTING
Masoud, Nawal bang on target
SPORTS
Basketball referees’
training course held
ššthe QbF and
QSSF officials with
participants.
T
HE Qatar School Sports Federation (QSSF)
joined hands with the Qatar basketball
Federation and Qatar Women’s Sport
committee to organise a basketball referees’ training
course last week.
the three-day event was attended by 19 women,
including players, coaches and schoolchildren.
QSSF President Ali Ahmed Al Hitmi, who gave
course certificates to the participants, elaborated on
the initiative.
“With the expansion and growth of the Schools
Olympic Programme, we’ve a real need for qualified
referees, especially women. So we wanted to
introduce some of them to the basics of refereeing.
there were current players, coaches and even a few
schoolchildren present,” said Al Hitmi, who also heads
the Qatar Gymnastics Federation.
“We’ll be happy if we can develop at least three
qualified referees from these women. the bigger
the number of women who’re aware of the game’s
rules, the easier it’ll be to promote the sport. We’re
very happy with the turnout and we’ll continue to
organise more such classes in the future,” he said.
the QSSF is all set to conduct refereeing courses
for women in games such as football, handball and
volleyball.
Kahn confirms
for Doha Goals
Forum
Qatar’s Rihan, Turki make merry
Q
and Ahmed Abel emerged as
triumphant in the c2 category,
winning in 13:55.82. Ahmad
IN MY OPINION, THE
RACES THIS YEAR WILL BE
TOUGHER THAN
EVER BEFORE.
Sulaiman and Nasser Al Fassam
finished second (14:22.54) while
rashed and Khaled Al Mohannadi
in the women’s section went to
Nawal Al Khalaf, who beat Noora
Al Ali 10-6 in the final.
Nawal put the disappointment
of bowing out of medal
contention in Incheon behind
herself with a gritty performance
in Losail.
“I was disappointed with my
show at the Asian Games and
badly needed a performance like
this to boost my morale. I was
determined to punish myself
with extra training and that has
paid off,” said Nawal.
Former German football great Oliver Kahn has joined the
roster of champions to speak at the Doha Goals Forum, to be
held at the Aspire Dome, from November 3 to 5. Participants
at this year’s event will discuss four key topics — engaging
youth, innovation and creativity, empowering people and the
role of sport in the Middle East and North Africa.
֫ VOLLEYBALL
֫ MARINESPORT
AtAr’S Mohammed Saud
rihan and Mohammed
turki won the c1 category
race of the Qatar Marine Sports
Federation’s (QMSF) Pro class
championship at the Al Wakrah
Port last week.
they finished in 18min, 5.76sec,
comfortably ahead of compatriots
Jassem and Hassan Al boenain
(18:34.93). Khaled Ahmed and
Abdel razzaq Al Hassan came third
(18:38.76).
Kuwait’s Moustafa Al Dashti
in the final.
“basically, I’m a double trap
shooter. I just wanted to try my
luck in the trap event.
“With each round, I became
more confident and, by God’s
grace, I was able to win the final.
I’m very pleased to have won the
title,” said Masoud who, along
with Hamad Al Marri and rashid
Al Athba, won Qatar’s first gold
in South Korea.
“the level of the competition
was high. It became harder due to
the tough conditions. the visibility
was very poor. I’m glad to have
defeated Ali in the final,” he added.
the corresponding honour
DSP/Mohan
֫ WOMEN’S
A
SIAN Games gold medallist
Masoud Hamad Al Athba
continued from where he
left off in Incheon by winning the
trap event at the Association cup
last week.
Masoud, who was a part of the
Qatari trio which won the double
trap gold in Incheon, proved that
he was equally adept in trap.
In windy and dusty conditions
at the Losail Shooting range,
Masoud held his nerve to beat
Masoud Ali Al Athba 11-5 in the
final.
After qualifying for the semifinal
with 110 shots, Masoud raised his
performance up by a notch
(14:33.29) completed the podium.
QMSF General Secretary Sami
Abu Shaikha, who awarded the
winners, felt the competition was
much stronger this year.
“Every year, racers from around
the Gulf take part in the Doha
event. this time around, we had
more boats taking part, especially
from Kuwait. they’re sure to add
excitement to the season. In my
opinion, the races this year will be
tougher than ever before,” said Abu
Shaikha.
Qatari colts open
their account
Q
AtAr recovered from initial jitters to open
their account in the 17th Asian Under-20
championship currently under way in
Manama, bahrain.
After losing to favourites Iran 20-25, 25-22,
25-27, 27-29 in their opening fixture, Qatar quickly
regrouped to beat turkmenistan 25-13, 31-29,
25-10 in their second Group D encounter.
Qatar’s preparations were less than perfect as
they could finish only third in the four-nation
friendly tournament, won by china, in Doha.
Qatar managed only one victory, against
Kazakhstan, and lost to Japan and china.
However, Slovenian coach tine Satler tried to
dwell on the positives.
“the match against Iran was one of the best
in the tournament so far. they withstood our
pressure. We began slowly and by the time we
started playing aggressively we had already lost
one set,” said Satler.
but against turkmenistan, Qatar dominated in
almost every aspect of the game.
India and Hong Kong are the other two teams in
Qatar’s group.
30
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
MIXED ZONE | INTERNATIONAL
֫ TENNIS
Marauding Murray!
A
NDY Murray clinched the
Vienna Open title last
Sunday with a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5
victory over David Ferrer, one of the
briton’s main rivals in the battle
to qualify for the AtP World tour
Finals.
Murray is now eighth in the race
to London standings, with the top
eight players qualifying for the
season-ending tournament from
November 9 to 16.
the victory was Murray’s first over
a top-eight player since he won
Wimbledon in 2013 and handed
him revenge for his third-round
defeat to Ferrer at the Shanghai
Masters recently.
“It was a good finish. Obviously, it
was an important match in the race
for the tour Finals in London, but
I managed to get through it,” said
Murray.
“It was a very long match and
both of us were in the locker room
struggling, limping around and
very stiff and sore so it was a nice
one to get through,” added Murray
Serena slams
Tarpishchev
for racist
remarks
after wrapping up victory in 2hr and
41min.
Meanwhile, croatian second
seed Marin cilic overcame roberto
batusta Agut 6-4, 6-4 to claim the
Kremlin Cup crown while russia’s
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova lifted the
women’s title.
World No.8 cilic, who already had
a place at the AtP World tour Finals,
THE WIN WAS MURRAY’S
FIRST OVER A TOP-EIGHT
PLAYER SINCE HE WON
WIMBLEDON IN 2013.
faced few problems against his
fifth-seeded Spanish opponent, but
did have to save six break points.
“I had to work really hard as there
were a lot of hard rallies,” said the
US Open champion.
Pavlyuchenkova clinched a
seventh WtA crown and second
title this year by beating romanian
Irina-camelia begu 6-4, 5-7, 6-1.
the 23-year-old, who won in
Paris in February, was pushed to the
limit before claiming the title after
struggling to hold serve.
the victory moved her up to 24th
in the latest world rankings.
“I couldn’t have thought of a
better way to finish the season than
being victorious in Moscow,” said
Pavlyuchenkova.
Elsewhere, Germany’s Annika
beck clinched her maiden WtA
title, sweeping past czech barbora
Zahlavova Strycova 6-2,
6-1 in the Luxembourg
Open final.
the 20-year-old
was defeated by
caroline Wozniacki
in last year’s title
match but made
up for it in style,
dropping just
three games
and one in her
semifinal rout
of Denisa
Allertova.
World No.1 Serena Williams slammed Shamil tarpishchev for
using extremely sexist, racist and bullying comments after the
russian tennis Federation (rtF) president described her and
sister Venus as the ‘Williams brothers’.
the WtA took swift action and fined
tarpishchev $25,000 and disqualified him from
working in an organisational capacity for a year
after he made the comments on Russian State
Television.
“I thought they were very insensitive and extremely
sexist as well as racist at the same time. I thought they
were in a way bullying,” said Serena.
Andy Murray
֫ GOLF
Martin breaks PGA duck at last!
Ilonen lifts
Match Play
trophy
MErIcA’S ben Martin fended
off a strong challenge from
compatriot Kevin Streelman
to win the $6.2m Shriners Hospitals
for children Open by two strokes in
Las Vegas.
Overnight leader Martin briefly
surrendered a big lead before
curling in a 45-foot eagle putt
at the par-five 16th to regain his
advantage over the fast-finishing
Streelman at the tPc Summerlin in
Nevada.
Martin punctuated the victory
with a birdie at the final hole to card
68 and finish at 20-under-par 264
Finn Mikko Ilonen landed
the biggest title of his
career by beating top seed
Henrik Stenson 3 & 1 in
an all-Nordic final at the
Volvo World Match Play
championship in Kent,
England.
Ilonen took a grip on
proceedings when Stenson
found the water guarding
the green at the par-three
eighth hole.
the 34-year-old stretched
his lead to two holes by
sinking an eight-foot putt at
the 11th and maintained his
consistency.
A
Ben
Martin
for his first PGA tour victory in his
56th start.
Streelman, who had recorded five
birdies in six holes to charge into
contention, missed a six-foot birdie
putt at the last, moments after
Martin’s eagle at the 16th, to finish
with a 65 and on 18-under-par 266.
briton russell Knox was third on
16-under.
“It was an awesome way to
finish, four-under in the last four
holes,” said Martin after securing
$1.08m and an invitation to next
year’s Masters.
the 2009 US Amateur runner-up
had never led into the final round
on tour, though he had finished
third three times and was pleased
to have continued his incremental
improvement to finally clinch a title.
Meanwhile, Scott Hend clinched
his maiden European tour title at
the Hong Kong Open when the
Australian saved a par on the crucial
18th hole to force a play-off, where
he prevailed over Filipino Angelo
Que.
Hend holed a par putt on the first
play-off hole after Que had missed
the green on the 18th and ended
with a bogey.
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
31
“When I saw Marquez crash, it was
a surprise and to finish first in Phillip
Island after my last victory in 2005 is
a great achievement.
Valentino Rossi, MotoGP legend.
şşWest Indies
players are in the
eye of a storm after
they pulled out
midway through the
Indian tour.
֫ MOTORSPORT
Rossi’s thunder
Down Under!
I
֫ CRICKET
Windies face India backlash
I
NDIA are considering legal
actions and may scrap their tour
of the West Indies in 2016 after
the caribbean team’s abrupt pullout
from the tour last week.
the board of control for cricket
in India (bccI) is also seeking
intervention of the game’s world
governing body after the tourists
abandoned the series with a onedayer, twenty20 international
and three tests left to play over
a payment dispute between the
players and their board.
the West Indies cricket board
(WIcb) said it had been left with
no choice, but to abandon the tour,
an action that angered the bccI,
which swiftly roped in Sri Lanka as
replacements to play a five-match
ODI series next month.
“It’ll be very difficult to play
West Indies in bilateral series in
future. they’ve to demonstrate the
willingness that such situations
never happen again,” said bccI
Secretary Sanjay Patel.
IT’LL BE VERY DIFFICULT
TO PLAY WEST INDIES IN
BILATERAL SERIES.
“I would say that India’s next tour
of West Indies is highly unlikely to
go ahead in the current situation,”
he added.
the Indian team is scheduled to
tour the caribbean for three tests,
five ODIs and a twenty20 match
early in ’16.
“Whatever the dispute, they
should’ve honoured the bilateral
agreement. We’ve suffered huge
losses and are going to ask the
International cricket council to
ensure that this never happens in
the future,” said Patel.
Meanwhile, the WIcb is also
considering the ramifications of
their squad’s failure to meet the
contractual obligation.
there are also serious doubts
as to whether or not the
caribbean side will be able to
fulfil its upcoming international
engagements.
Pakistan include
three rookies
P
AKIStAN included three uncapped players in
their squad for the two-test series against
Australia in the United Arab Emirates.
batsman Haris Sohail, pace bowler Imran Khan
and leg-spinner Yasir Shah were named in the
16-member squad.
Sohail, a left-hander, scored a century in the
four-day tour match against Australia in Sharjah last
week.
Shah played One-Day Internationals against
Zimbabwe in 2011.
Veteran opener taufiq Umar was
PAKISTAN
recalled to the squad and Mohammad
SQUAD
Hafeez has recovered from a hand
Misbah-ul-Haq
(captain)
injury.
Ahmed Shehzad
batsman Umar Akmal and left-arm
Asad Shafiq
spinner Abdur rehman, who were part
Azhar Ali
taufiq Umar
of Pakistan’s previous test assignment,
Younis Khan
were left out. Opener Khurram
Shan Masood
Manzoor also missed out from that
Haris Sohail
Mohammad
squad, as do the injured Junaid Khan
Hafeez
and Wahab riaz, and the suspended
Sarfaraz Ahmed
Saeed Ajmal.
Ehsan Adil
Pakistan have not defeated Australia
Mohammad
talha
in a test since 1995 and not won a
Imran Khan
series against them since 1994.
rahat Ali
the first test begins in Dubai on
Yasir Shah
Zulfiqar babar
Wednesday.
tALIAN legend Valentino rossi won his first
Australian MotoGP in nine years after world
champion Marc Marquez crashed out while
holding a big lead at Phillip Island.
rossi, one of the sport’s greats with nine world
championships across all classes, swept to the
front when Marquez came off his bike on the
19th lap, to beat compatriot and team-mate Jorge
Lorenzo and britain’s bradley Smith in an
all-Yamaha podium.
It was rossi’s sixth premier-class win
at Phillip Island and his first
since 2005 to extend his
RESULTS
phenomenal record to 15
1. Valentino rossi (ItA) Yamaha 40:46.405
podium finishes in 18
2. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP) Yamaha at 10.83
trips to Australia.
3. bradley Smith (Gbr) Yamaha 12.29
4. Andrea Dovizioso (ItA) Ducati 14.89
Marquez, who
5. Hector barbera (ESP) Avintia 30.08
clinched back-to-back
STANDINGS
world titles recently in
1. Marc Marquez (ESP)
312
Japan, had looked set
2. Valentino rossi (ItA)
255
comfortably to win his
3. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP)
247
4. Dani Pedrosa (ESP)
230
first MotoGP at Phillip
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ItA)
166
Island with a massive 4sec
advantage on his dominant
repsol Honda bike.
but the Spanish ace lost control
of his front wheel on the 19th of the 27-lap race
at the bottom of Lukey Heights and crashed out
unharmed, leaving rossi to take over and go on to
win by 10.83sec.
tito rabat had been hoping to wrap up the
Moto2 title, but had to settle for third place
behind compatriot Maverick Vinales and Swiss
thomas Luthi after an error-strewn race.
Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation racing
team’s Anthony West finished 22nd while roman
ramos ended up one place behind him.
KtM rider Jack Miller gave the locals something
to cheer for when he won a thrilling Moto3 race
ahead of Marquez’s brother Alex and cut the
Shane
Watson
Spaniard’s lead in the title race to 20.
Amnesty window for
Australian players
A
UStrALIAN players will be
given an amnesty window
until the end of November to
report any previous
corruption-related information.
Under cricket Australia’s (cA)
anti-corruption code, players and
officials can be sanctioned for failing
to report a corrupt approach or for
failing to disclose information of a
breach by a third party.
“We think this is a responsible
approach to protecting the game. We
need to ensure the public has full
faith in the integrity of the game,”
said cA Senior Manager of Integrity
Iain roy.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Shane
Watson has been named in the
13-man squad for twenty20
matches against South Africa next
month.
the 33-year-old was ruled out of
a One-Day International tournament
against South Africa and Zimbabwe
last month after he hurt an ankle.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch
(captain)
Sean Abbott
Doug bollinger
cameron boyce
Patrick cummins
ben cutting
ben Dunk
James Faulkner
Nic Maddinson
Nathan reardon
Kane richardson
Shane Watson
cameron White
ŠşValentino
rossi does a
wheelie after
winning the
Australian
MotoGP.
32
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
PEOPLE
Northern Ireland skipper Steven
Davis pledged his long-term future
to Southampton, with a contract
extension at the English Premier
League club till 2018. the
29-year-old said he was delighted
to be staying on the south coast
because Southampton were a
progressive club and that he
was enthralled with the
team’s prospects.
Former England centre-back
Rio Ferdinand has been
charged by the Football
Association for misconduct
following a comment he
made on twitter. Ferdinand
was tagged in a message
that read: “Maybe QPr will
sign a good cb (centre back)
they need one”, to which he
responded with a Jamaican
slang word.
belgium’s Philippe Gilbert
won the final edition of the
tour of beijing, in the shadow
of the bird’s Nest stadium that
hosted the 2008 Olympics.
Ireland’s Dan Martin, who was
last year’s runner-up, again
took second place overall while
Esteban chaves of colombia
took third. Garmin-Sharp’s
American rider tyler Farrar took
the green jersey.
Peruvian side cesar Vallejo’s
goalkeeper Salomon Libman
saved four penalties and
scored the winner himself
to take his team into the
quarterfinal of the copa
Sudamericana for the first
time. cesar Vallejo, who lost
the first leg 0-2 to brazilian
side bahia, won by the same
scoreline to take the tie to
penalties.
bayern Munich midfielder Thiago
Alcantara faces another operation
after tearing the medial ligament
in his right knee for the second
time. the 23-year-old Spain
star, who was working
his way back to fitness,
injured his right knee
again in training last
week and will be out
indefinitely following
the surgery.
Aston Villa and England
midfielder Fabian Delph needs
a shoulder surgery after a
training injury and could be
out of action until the end of
December. that would rule
the player out of England’s
Euro 2016 qualifier against
Slovenia next month as well
as a friendly against Scotland
and up to 11 English Premier
League matches.
STAR OF THE WEEK VALENTINO ROSSI
S
EVEN-tIME world champion
Valentino rossi raised
the roof at the Australian
MotoGP last week, delivering a
stunning victory at the Phillip
Island circuit.
In a virtuoso performance,
where he virtually rolled back the
years, the 35-year-old also led a
Yamaha 1-2-3 on his 250th start
in the premier class, with former
champion Jorge Lorenzo finishing
second and bradley Smith third
for his first podium.
rossi started eighth on the
grid and cashed in after
newly-crowned world champion
Marc Marquez crashed out with
10 laps to go.
It was rossi’s 108th career win
and first in Australia since 2005. It
also marked his 82nd win in the
top class of Grand Prix racing. the
result is also the first all-Yamaha
podium since Le Mans, France,
in ’08.
“I’m so happy because Phillip
Island is one of the most
important and most beautiful
tracks of the season. I won here
many times in the past, but over
the last few years, I was only able
to get onto the podium without
winning the race. to come back
and take the first position after
10 years is great. It’s also great
to see three Yamahas on the
podium!” said rossi for whom it is
the second success of the season
following the home win in San
Marino Grand Prix.
rossi’s victory pushed him
out to an eight-point lead over
team-mate Lorenzo in second
place in the World championship
standings behind Marquez, with
two races remaining at Sepang
and Valencia.
“I was focused on the second
place in the championship and
I’m able to gain some points over
Jorge (Lorenzo), but it’s so close
with two races to the end,” said
the Italian.
‘the Doctor’, as he is known
among his peers, rossi made a
great start and jumped two places
to sixth in the opening lap itself.
“the race was tricky. the work
that we did with the team was
very important. We did a fantastic
job and made the right front tyre
choice. Marquez wasn’t too far
in front of me, but he had a 2sec
gap. So I decided to focus on
my speed. When I was in front,
Marquez crashed and I said to
myself “victory!” rossi added.
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
33
SPORT THIS WEEK
QATAR
Peyton Manning created NFL
history when he broke brett
Favre’s record for touchdown
passes, taking his career tally
to 510 in leading Denver to a
42-17 rout of San Francisco. the
38-year-old, a five-time NFL
Most Valuable Player, came into
the contest needing three passes
to eclipse Favre’s record of 508
and he did it before half-time.
Pakistan’s revenue authorities
have frozen the bank accounts of
cricket captain Misbah-ul Haq over
alleged tax evasion, plunging the
out-of-form batsman into fresh
crisis. A number of players have
been investigated for tax evasion
of the past few years. Federal
bureau of revenue spokesman
Shahid Hussain confirmed that
batsman Azhar Ali’s accounts had
also been frozen.
MOVERS&SHAKERS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26
CRICKET
CRICKET
CRICKET
Acc U-16 tournament, Qatar vs Iran,
3pm at West End Park Stadium.
Acc U-16 tournament, Afghanistan
vs Iran, 9.40am at Mesaieed
Industrial city Ground and Hong
Kong vs Kuwait, 3pm at West End
Park Stadium.
Acc U-16 tournament, Iran vs
Kuwait, 9.40am at Mesaieed
Industrial city Ground and Qatar vs
Afghanistan, 3pm at West End Park
Stadium.
FOOTBALL
FOOTBALL
Arab cup Under-17 championship,
Qatar vs Mauritania, Al Wakrah
Stadium, 5.30pm.
Asian cup trophy tour, Landmark
Mall, 1pm onwards.
Qatar Stars League, Umm Salal
vs Lekhwiya, Qatar Sc Stadium,
5.30pm, Qatar Sc vs Al Sadd, Qatar
Sc Stadium, 7.45pm, Al Kharaityat vs
Al Sailiya, Al Khor Stadium, 7.45pm.
Arab cup Under-17 championship,
Djibouti vs Qatar, Al Wakrah Stadium,
5.30pm.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 27
CRICKET
FOOTBALL
Qatar Stars League, Al Sadd vs Al
Sailiya, Al Sadd Stadium, 5.30pm,
Al Shamal vs Qatar Sc, Al Shamal
Stadium, 5.30pm, Lekhwiya vs Al
Wakrah, Lekhwiya Stadium, 5.30pm,
El Jaish vs Al Khor, Lekhwiya Stadium,
7.45pm, Al Ahli vs Al Kharaitiyat, Al
Arabl Stadium, 7.45pm.
Asian cup trophy tour, Landmark
Mall, 4pm onwards.
HORSERACING
Weekly races, 4pm at Qatar racing
and Equestrian club.
S
It was a stunning fall from grace
for the 27-year-old, who made
history by becoming the first
double amputee Paralympian to
compete against able-bodied
athletes at the ’12 London
Olympics, inspiring
millions.
but during his trial,
the prosecution painted
a darker picture of the
sports star.
Lawyers, however, said
Pistorius would probably not serve
the full term for the offence of
culpable homicide, equivalent to
manslaughter, and perhaps as little
as 10 months.
G
assertiveness in their last game (a
0-6 loss to croatia in a Euro 2016
qualifier).
“there was also the problem
of physical conditioning. He
has pointed this out on
a number of occasions
over the last few years,
but a decision was
never taken to fix this,” it
added.
Abdullayev offered Vogts
an opportunity to continue working
with the national team, but he
declined and his successor has yet to
be named.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24
CRICKET
Acc U-16 tournament, Qatar vs Hong
Kong, 9.40am at Mesaieed Industrial
city Ground and Afghanistan vs
Kuwait, 3pm at West End Park
Stadium.
FOOTBALL
FOOTBALL
Arab cup Under-17 championship,
Palestine vs Iraq, Qatar Sc Stadium,
4.15pm, Sudan vs Saudi Arabia, Qatar
Sc Stadium, 6.45pm.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28
CRICKET
Acc U-16 tournament, Afghanistan
vs Hong Kong, 3pm at Mesaieed
Industrial city Ground.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25
FOOTBALL
Qatar Stars League, Al Khor vs Al
Shamal, Al Khor Stadium, 5.30pm,
Al Shahaniya vs Al Arabi, Al Gharafa
Stadium, 5.30pm, Al Gharafa vs El
Jaish, Al Gharafa Stadium, 7.45pm,
Al Wakrah vs Al Ahli, Al Wakrah
Stadium, 7.45pm.
SHOOTING
SHOOTING
Association cup, 9am at Losail
Shooting range.
Association cup, 9am at Losail
Shooting range.
INTERNATIONAL
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26
CRICKET
CRICKET
ALPINE SKIING
Pakistan vs Australia, first test at
Dubai (till Sunday).
New Zealand vs South Africa, second
ODI at Mount Maunganui.
World cup at Soelden.
FOOTBALL
RUGBY UNION
champions League group stage
matches.
European rugby champions cup
group games.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25
CRICKET
bangladesh vs Zimbabwe, first test at
Dhaka (till October 29).
Vogts quits Azerbaijan job
ErMANY’S Berti Vogts has
resigned as head coach of
Azerbaijan after six years at
the helm, with the country’s
football association
confirming his departure
following a meeting
with its president
rovnag Abdullayev in
Zurich.
“Vogts, unfortunately,
said that he didn’t see a
future with the national team,” the
Association of Football Federations of
Azerbaijan said.
“He said that the team had lacked
Weekly races, 4pm at Qatar racing
and Equestrian club.
Arab cup Under-17 championship,
Sudan vs Palestine, Qatar Sc
Stadium, 4.15pm, Iraq vs Saudi
Arabia, Qatar Sc Stadium, 6.45pm
Pistorius sentenced to
five years in prison
OUtH African star athlete Oscar
Pistorius was sentenced to five
years in prison on tuesday for
killing his girlfriend, in the climax to
his sensational trial watched
around the world.
the Paralympian
sprinter, known as the
blade runner, was led
from the dock down
to the cells to start his
sentence for shooting
model reeva Steenkamp on
February 14, 2013.
“count one, culpable homicide,
the sentence imposed is five years,”
Judge thokozile Masipa told Pistorius
in the Pretoria courtroom.
HORSERACING
Acc U-16 tournament, Qatar
vs Kuwait, 9.40am at Mesaieed
Industrial city Ground and Hong
Kong vs Iran, 3pm at West End Park
Stadium.
FOOTBALL
Asian champions League final, first
leg: Western Sydney Wanderers vs
Al Hilal.
TENNIS
WtA championships finals,
Singapore; AtP at Valencia and basel
(till Sunday).
MOTORSPORT
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23
Malaysian MotoGP, Sepang.
FOOTBALL
MONDAY, OCTOBER 27
AFc Under-19 tournament, final,
Qatar vs North Korea, Youth training
centre, Yangon, 7pm.
Europa League group stage matches.
CRICKET
New Zealand vs South Africa, third
ODI at Hamilton.
TENNIS
GOLF
EPGA at Perth International; Asian
tour at Macau Open; LPGA at Hainan
Island, china (till Sunday).
MOTORSPORT
rally of Spain (till Sunday).
AtP at Paris; WtA at Ningbo, Sofia (till
November 2).
RUGBY LEAGUE
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28
Four Nations: Australia vs New
Zealand; England vs Samoa, brisbane.
NbA season starts.
BASKETBALL
34
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
MOSAIC
HEALTH
Exorcising
depression!
E
XErcISING three times a week
reduces the odds of developing
depression by around 16 per
cent and the risk drops further for
every extra weekly activity session.
In a study conducted as part of a
public health research consortium,
UK-based scientists said the
relationship they found between
depression and exercise points to
ways to simultaneously improve
both mental and physical health.
“Assuming the association is
causal, leisure time physical activity
has a protective effect against
depression,” said Snehal Pinto Pereira
of the University college London’s
(UcL) Institute of child Health, who
led the study.
“If adults between their 20s and
40s who aren’t physically active
became active three times per week,
they would reduce their risk of
depression by approximately
16 per cent.”
chris Power, a UcL professor of
epidemiology and public health,
who also worked on the study, said
it added weight to existing
evidence suggesting
exercise could be used
as a treatment for
depression.
Biting problem!
T
OP athletes are often
dogged by decaying teeth
and gum disease, a
performance-sapping problem in
which sports drinks, high-carb diets
and training regimes may play a part,
specialists said last week.
Experts from britain and North
America reviewed 39 published
studies into the oral health of elite or
professional sportspersons.
Decaying teeth affected 15 to 75
per cent of the athletes, moderate to
severe gum disease up to 15 per cent
and enamel erosion between 36 and
85 per cent.
the figures add to a survey carried
out at the 2012 London Olympics,
where 46.5 per cent of athletes
admitted they had not been to the
dentist in the last year and 18 per
cent said dental woes had affected
their performance in the past.
“Oral health could be an easy win
for athletes as the oral conditions that
can affect performance are all easily
preventable,” said Ian Needleman,
a professor at the University college
London, who co-led the study.
the study, published in the British
Journal of Sports Medicine, said
athletes faced intense dietary and
training pressures, all of which took a
toll on their teeth.
“If everyone was physically
active at least three times a week,
we would expect to see a drop in
depression risk, not to mention
the benefits for physical health, as
pointed out by other research,
including reduced obesity, heart
disease and diabetes risk,”
he said.
I
Big benefits of
unsaturated fats!
F YOU are going to overindulge and gain
weight, at least try to make sure the extra
calories come from unsaturated fats, a
new study suggests.
When lean people pack on even a few
extra pounds, heart disease risk factors
in the bloodstream change — some for
the better if the excess food contains
unsaturated fats, versus saturated fats,
researchers found.
Even a moderate weight gain of about
three pounds for lean, young people
clearly increased markers of heart
disease risk factors like
insulin resistance as
well as signs of impaired
vascular function, said
senior author Dr Ulf
riserus of the Unit for
clinical Nutrition and
Metabolism at the
Uppsala Science Park in Sweden.
but unsaturated fats in the diet improved
cholesterol levels despite the extra calories and
weight gain, which is surprising, riserus said.
riserus and his team had previously found
that the type of fat in the diet determined
how much of the excess calories were
stored as abdominal fat and liver fat.
“If the high-caloric diet was based
on unsaturated fats rather than
saturated fats, very little fat was
stored as liver and abdominal fat,
whereas the opposite was true for the
diet high in saturated fats,” he said.
In addition to sunflower oil,
rapeseed oil and canola oil are good
sources of polyunsaturated fats,
riserus said.
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
35
FITNESS
Making
inroads into
treatments
F
rENcH health, beauty
and fitness brand LPG has
launched new sports and
fitness treatments that help
sports professionals in the
treatment of connective tissue
and rehabilitation.
More than 110 scientific
studies have proven the value
of these sports techniques for
global, fast and efficient care of
elite athletes.
Whether you are a
professional athlete or an
occasional sportsperson, the
latest cellu M6 and Huber
Motion Lab machines offer
LPG Endermosport programme
adapted to every field of sports,
from swimming to football to
basketball.
the LPG sports technique
can relax stiffness around the
joints and is responsible for
stretching and mobilisation of
the skin, tendons, ligaments,
muscles with virtually no pain.
SPORTS SECURITY
Hershman, Lute join ICSS board
T
rANSPArENcY International
co-founder Michael
Hershman and former
US deputy secretary of
Homeland Security
Jane Lute have
been appointed to
the Advisory board
of Doha-based
International centre for
Sport Security (IcSS).
Following on from their
involvement at the Securing
Sport 2014 conference in London
recently, Hershman and Lute will
join some of the world’s top safety,
security and integrity experts on the
Advisory board and will contribute
to the IcSS’ mission to protect
and safeguard sport.
Speaking on his
appointment,
Hershman said,
“I look forward
to joining the IcSS
Advisory board and playing an
active role in bringing governments
and organisations in sport closer
together to protect major events
and safeguard the integrity and
TECHNOLOGY
Switch carriers with a touch!
A
PPLE’S new iPad Air 2,
launched last week, will
allow subscribers to switch
wireless carriers much more easily,
by swiping an icon across the screen
of the device.
the feature, available thanks to a
neutral Apple SIM card installed in
the device, will allow customers to
sign up for short-term service plans
and switch carriers using their iPad,
the company said.
the SIM card supports At&t,
t-Mobile and Sprint high-speed
networks. For service from US carrier
Verizon Wireless, customers need to
install a separate Verizon SIM card.
the feature allows customers
to switch carriers based on their
monthly needs, like bigger data
buckets, more reliable connections
or cheaper prices. travelling
subscribers can also plug into
international carriers’ networks
and purchase temporary contracts
through the iPad.
credibility of sport.”
Lute, who had a distinguished
career in peacekeeping, counterterrorism and cyber security,
added, “to join the IcSS
Advisory board and such
an esteemed group of
international leaders
and decision-makers
from the world of security
and integrity is an exciting
opportunity and I look forward to
contributing new ideas and new
ways that can sport can protect
itself.”
It improves motor functions that
are highly significant for athletes
and facilitates the process of
recovery of the muscle, thus
optimising physical performance
and recovery following intense
effort.
real Madrid star cristiano
ronaldo, who suffered
tendinosis around his left
kneecap, is back in shape,
thanks to the new LPG cellu M6
machine.
Details of the latest LPG sports
and fitness treatments are
available at the LPG bella concept
website www.lpgsystems.ae/
endermosport.php.
CAMEO
Panasonic partners
Paralympics
Panasonic, the Japanese consumer electronics company, has announced a
sponsorship deal with the International Paralympic committee to become
its official partner till the 2020 tokyo Games. the deal sees Panasonic join
Visa, Samsung and Atos in becoming sponsors of both the Olympics and
Paralympics.
Chinese FA ties up Couleur Voyages
with Continental in key deal
German tyre
manufacturer
continental has
announced a deal
with the chinese
Football Association to
become a sponsor of the national
team. It marks an extension to its
sponsorship portfolio that currently
includes both the Asian Football
confederation and FIFA World cup.
the French Football Federation
has signed a deal with couleur
Voyages, which will see the latter
become the official travel agency.
As part of the deal, couleur
Voyages will provide a broad
range of travel services for fans
when they travel to support the
national team.
the Spanish
Football
Federation
announced
the extension
of its sponsorship deal with
Pelayo. the insurance giant will
continue to support the national
team till the end of the 2016
European championship.
chelsea announced
a regional
sponsorship deal
with Vietnamobile. the
leading phone network will
now become their official mobile
services partner in Vietnam.
Chelsea sign up
Pelayo to continue with Vietnamobile
English Premier
Spanish support
League giants
— Courtesy CSM Sport & Entertainment
www.csm.com
@FastTrack_ME
36
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
AFP/Paul Ellis
CLOSE-UP
AFP/Patricia De Melo Moreira
Manchester United’s Daley blind
exults after scoring the equaliser
against West bromwich Albion
during their English Premier
League football match, which
ended in a 2-2 draw.
ŢŢFoamy wave!
Hawaiian surfer John Florence competes
in the quarterfinal of the Moche rip curl
Pro Portugal at Supertubos beach in
Peniche. Florence advanced with 17.27
points, but lost to South Africa’s Jordy
Smith in the semifinal.
ŠŢGutsy display!
Lens goalkeeper rudy
riou thwarts hosts Paris
Saint-Germain’s Edinson
cavani, second right, during
their French League football
match. PSG won 3-1.
AFP/Franck Fife
šŢJubilant!
37
AFP/Adrian Dennis
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
REUTERS/Grigory Dukor
the czech republic’s Lucie Safarova
serves to romania’s Irina-camelia begu
in the Kremlin cup tennis semifinal
in Moscow. begu won 7-6 (7-5), 1-6,
6-3, but lost to russia’s Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova 4-6, 7-5, 1-6 in the final.
šŢGrip strength!
castres Olympique’s William
Whetton is challenged by
hosts Harlequins’ Mike brown
during their European rugby
champions cup match in
London. Harlequins won 25-9.
ŢŢNo way!
Maccabi Electra’s Marquez
Haynes, left, challenges Limoges
cSP’s Jamar Smith during their
Euroleague basketball match in
tel Aviv, Israel. Hosts Maccabi
won 92-76.
AFP/Jack Guez
şŢAll focused!
38
WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
1
9
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4udoku is2
5a number-placing
8
9 puzzle based on a
given numbers.
the object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in
the empty squares so that each row, each column and
each 3x3 box contains the same number only once.
Solution-442
9
4
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7
1
1
2
3
9
5
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6
8
4
3
8
1
4
6
9
2
3
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8
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9
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2
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3
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1
6
6
5
1
8
2
4
8
2
3
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8
2
3
6
6
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4
8
2
1
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3
2
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4
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4
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3
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6
1
http://www.dailysudoku.com/
3 76
4
7 5 8
2
7
3 1 6
9
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76
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4
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6 9
9
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7 3
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3
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5 8
9
Daily Sudoku: Sat 22-Feb-2014
Sid Lowe
@sidlowe
Ft barça 3-0 Eibar. Messi
edges closer to record and
looking pretty damn good
later on. Xavi impressive.
Another clean sheet.
Quotes on Messi
@MessiQuote
Messi made debut 10
years ago, and is 2 goals
off the all-time @LaLiga
goalscoring record.
Phenomenal.
Jose Cardoso
@_JOSE_cArDOSO
can’t wait for el clasico
Aaron Foster
@WeeMessi11
cant wait for Messi to
break the goal scoring
record in the El clasico
:))))))))
John F Axon
55@fenderstrat
#Messi dancing his way
to La Liga scoring record.
call it Lionel flair, genius
player but give me
#christianoronaldo every
time. I’m biased.
Barca Media
@realestVEVO
Messi inched closer to
breaking telmo Zarra’s alltime Liga score record. He
9Barcelona,
1 Lionel7Messi had
8 the opportunity
2 5 to become
3 6
the Spanish League’s top scorer. But against promoted side
Eibar last week, he scored just once, bringing up his 250th
for2
Barca. Only
ahead of7
the
4goal
6 Telmo1Zarra3(251) is 9
5
pint-sized magician from Argentina. Next week, when
Barca travel to Real Madrid for the season’s first El Clasico,
setting
more perfect
him to make
5the
3 could8not be 4
7 for 6
9 1
history. Twitter followers seemed to relish the drama. Here
are some of the reactions.
7 9 4 6 5 2 1 8
1 5 3 9 8 4 6 2
4
8
2
3
7
write history
8could
6
2 against
7
real Madrid next Saturday!
#cules.
2culestats
7 1 3
@culestats
3NOtE:
4Messi’s5second 2
record which is difficult to
break:
Always
6•consecutive
8 scored
9in 19 5
league
9
5
6
1
matchday.
• Scored 91 goals in one
year.
Sergi Dominguez
@ FutbolSergi
Since 2009, Messi is
the player with most
goals, Most Assists, Most
key passes, and Most
successfull dribbles in La
Liga.
Messiesta
@mary_chochana
I can’t wait to see the
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
UK ...................................... £1
Europe ............................. €2
Oman ...............200 Baisas
Bahrain..................200 Fils
Egypt .............................LE 2
Lebanon..........3,000 Livre
Kuwait....................250 Fils
Morocco ......................Dh 6
Follow us on
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double winner Femi Seun
Ogunode speaks about his
life, experiences, fighting
spirit and dreams. PAGES 18-19
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P 8 | FOOTBALL
EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW
Qatari clubs not
doing enough!
P 20 | POSTER
MARC
MARQUEZ
Ex-Gharafa man Tardelli
is new Brazil star
It was nice to see Diego tardelli scoring a brace to
help brazil beat Argentina in their recent friendly in
beijing (Doha Stadium Plus, October 15).
When these arch-rivals meet, it’s never really
a friendly and tardelli can be proud of his
achievement. the fabulous form of the striker,
who was with Al Gharafa during 2012-13, quells
the notion that playing in Qatar adversely affects
aspiring talents.
Ahmed Al Zubaidi, Doha.
Aspiring for the best
Almost a decade to the day he made his debut for
Messi has the possibility of
matching if not breaking
the record of most goals
score in the Spanish
League! #Messi.
Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah leads Mini All4 Racing
Team to a 1-2-3 finish at the Morocco leg of
the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.
WEDNESDAY, OCtObER 15, 2014 | Vol IX | No.37 | QR2.00
TOP TWEETS
OptaJoe
@OptaJoe
250 - Lionel Messi has now
scored 250 La Liga goals (in
285 games), just one short
of the all-time competition
record. Lethal.
P 25 | MOTORSPORT
NASSER REIGNS SUPREME
Khalfan Ibrahim nets the all-important goal as
Qatar record their first-ever win over Australia,
in an international friendly in Doha.
DSP/Vinod Divakaran
S
9x9Satgrid
with several
Daily Sudoku:
22-Feb-2014
1
9
P 6 | FOOTBALL
HIStORIC WIN FOR QAtAR
Seunshine!
SUDOKU-443
(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2014. All rights reserved.
(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2014. All rights reserved.
MIND SQUARE
1bernabeu
3 honouring
5 4
Messi for becoming the
all time top scorer in La
6Liga. 8 4 9
Matthew Carson
9@Matthewcarson01
1 8 7
Messi is scoring a goal
every 103 minutes in la
this
4liga
7season.2ronaldo
3
every 42.
the expansion of the Aspire Zone (Doha Stadium
Plus, October 15) is absolutely wonderful news. Its
facilities are probably the best in the world, which
is exactly why teams such as bayern Munich and
Paris Saint-Germain make it their winter training
camp base every year.
the doubling of the area, currently spread over
250 hectares, will surely make it a sports wonder of
the world. Every Qatari can be proud of the zone.
Mohammed Al Shammari, Doha.
In for a long haul
Marc Marquez underlined his dominance in
MotoGP by winning his second world title (Doha
Stadium Plus, October 15).
the 21-year-old was unstoppable at the start of
the season, winning 10 straight races. He suffered
crashes at San Marino and Aragon, but he always
had the championship under control.
the catalan made sure of it by finishing second
in Japan. It looks like he’s going to dominate the
sport for a long time.
Paolo Costa, Doha.
FedEx game for more!
Akinizzle
@Akinizzle http://www.dailysudoku.com/
roger Federer proved he has it in him to
Script all set for Messi.
win another Grand Slam as he beat the likes of
Equal the La Liga record at
Novak Djokovic en route to the Shanghai Masters
the El classico.
title (Doha Stadium Plus, October 15). Federer has
made rapid strides towards regaining his once
FCB & Maro
all-conquering form after appointing Stefan Edberg
@jperkovic93
as coach.
ray Hudson after
Messi’s goal:
the Swiss has his confidence back and some
“Uncontainable witchcraft
of the shots, like down-the-line back-hand ones,
by the wizard sorcerer.
were a treat to watch. I can’t wait to see the
He knows the laws of
maestro in action at the end-of-season AtP World
physics, but they don’t
tour Finals.
know him.”
Michael Finch, Doha.
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 22, 2014
It is your turn now. tell us about sports events in your neighbourhood,
send us photographs too and get them published in DSP.
Our e-mail is [email protected]
39
YOUR PAGE
IHF hails Qatar’s 2015
Worlds preparations
The Qatar 2015 Organising
Committee members, led by HE
Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani,
held discussions with International
Handball Federation (IHF) officials
at its headquarters in Basel,
Switzerland, last Monday.
The Qatari delegation also included
Organising Committee Vice-President
Ahmed Mohammed Abdulrab Al
Shaabi, Director General Dr Thani
Abdulrahman Al Kuwari and Assistant
Director General Mohammed Jabor
Registration open for Third
Ooredoo Doha Marathon
Registration for the Third Ooredoo Doha
Marathon, to be held on January 9 next year, is
officially open.
The QR1m prize money event will see elite
runners in action for the first time.
It will feature a full marathon (42km) and half
marathon (21km) as well as 10km, 5km and
special 3km and 1km races for children. The
marathon course is expected to feature some
of Doha’s most iconic sites.
Ooredoo’s Director of Community & Public
Relations Fatima Sultan Al Kuwari, Race
Ambassador Liz McColgan and Race Director
Sarah Whittington briefed the media about the
preparations.
To register for the races, visit www.marathon.
ooredoo.qa.
Rita Yared sent the details and photograph.
Al Mulla.
They discussed the progress, made
in preparation for the Men’s World
Championship to be held in Doha
from January 15 to February 1, with
IHF President Dr Hassan Moustafa,
Managing Director Amal Khalifa and
Competition Director Patrick Strub.
The IHF chief praised the organising
committee for its work towards
making the Worlds a great success.
Rita Yared sent the details and
photograph.
Asian Cup all set to tour Doha
The coveted Asian Cup will tour Doha on Wednesday
and Thursday.
The trophy of the continent’s premier football
tournament, to be held in Australia from January 9
to 31 next year, will be on display at the Landmark
Mall on Wednesday from 4pm. Former Saudi
Arabian great Sami Al Jaber is expected to speak to
the media and greet fans at 5pm.
The trophy will be on display from 1pm to 10pm
at the same venue on Thursday. Fans can enter
a contest by taking a selfie posing alongside the
cup, with the winner getting a chance to travel to
Australia to watch the group match between
Qatar and the UAE.
Sarah Odeh sent the details.
Mathew, Muthalaly champs
P K Mathew and Mathew Muthalaly emerged
victorious in Flight A and Flight B respectively
in the golf tournament organised by the Qatar
Golf Lovers at the Doha Golf Club last week.
Doug Thomson won the second prize in Flight
A while John Anthony was the runner-up in
Flight B.
Laurie Tulk won the longest putt, Suresh
Venkataraman ‘longest drive’, Steve Massiah
‘closest to pin’ and Suresh Rebello ‘closest to
rope’ awards.
P K Mathew sent the details and photograph.
Sultan-Amir duo reigns
supreme in InterCon tennis
Sultan Khalfan and Amir Bayoumi clinched the
doubles title at the Seventh Qatar Tennis Federation
(QTF)-InterContinental Doha Open Tournament.
In the final at the Khalifa International Tennis
Complex courts, they defeated Cliff Acaso and Rauel
Robilar 7-5, 6-4.
It was some consolation for Amir, who had lost 3-6,
6-7 (3-7) to Moussa Shanen Zayed in the singles
final.
The event saw a record 328 players, including 129
Qataris, competing in 22 categories.
QTF Assistant General Secretary Tariq Zainal Al
Darwish awarded the winners.
Redab Masoud sent the details and photograph.
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