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Rooney puts England back on course
Croatia hold France to
surprise draw |
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Totti or not, Italy must improve against Sweden Bulgaria keen to reproduce magic of 1994 Euro’s
hair-raising experience
Asia Cup probables selection on June 20 Harbhajan working on ‘magic’ ball Unethical of PCB to sack me: Miandad
Directive to Shoaib Anjali, Abhinav disappoint at Milan meet Uppal ousts Sunil Kumar
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Rooney puts England back on course
Coimbra,June 17 The fiery striker, 18 years and seven months old, headed home after 23 minutes and scored again in the 75th minute of a nervous display by his team rounded off by Steven Gerrard's late strike. "Two beautiful goals, 18 years old, with this performance at this level — it's incredible," England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said. Still bearing the scars of a 1-2 stoppage time defeat by France in their group B opener on Sunday, England only settled in the closing stages after Swiss defender Bernt Haas was sent off. "When you lose a game like we did last Sunday, you never known the reaction," Eriksson said. "Maybe we were a little nervous at the beginning." Rooney's third international record after becoming England's youngest player and youngest scorer last year as a 17-year-old threw them a lifeline before their final group game against Croatia. It put them level on three points with France, who play Croatia later. The Swiss have one point, the same as the Croatians. Faced with a match they could not afford to lose, England were a bag of nerves in the early stages, over-hitting passes forward for Michael Owen and conceding a flurry of free kicks and corners to a composed Swiss side. Unable to build any rhythm, England's frustration showed after 19 minutes when Rooney followed through on grounded Swiss keeper Joerg Stiel. The 18-year-old conceded a free kick two minutes later for a barge, showing all the signs of a player about to get a red card. Instead, he made history when David Beckham picked out an unmarked Owen at the far post and the striker's chip across the goal gave Rooney an easy close-range header. A disappointing Owen could have added a second before the break had he been able to connect properly with Ashley Cole's raking low ball across the face of the goal. Switzerland kept plugging away at an England defence in which Sol Campbell was again imperious, this time partnered by John Terry on his return from a hamstring injury. Though England got forward more easily after Haas's dismissal for a second booking on the hour, Owen failed to make the most of the opportunities and it needed Rooney's second and Gerrard's strike to finish the job. Man-of-the-match Rooney's fierce shot cannoned off the near post and rebounded into the net off the goalkeeper, and Gerrard arrived unmarked at the far post to clip in full back Gary Neville's cross with eight minutes remaining. "I hit it as hard as I could and luckily enough it went in — I am going to claim it," Rooney said. "We needed the win out there and luckily we got it. We are back on track." England had previously failed to score in the second half of their last six matches in major championships under Eriksson. — Reuters |
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English football fan jailed Lisbon: An English soccer fan was jailed for two years last night for rioting in the Portuguese town of
Albufeira. Gary Mann (47), was one of 12 England fans to be taken to Albufeira’s courthouse to face charges following Monday’s riots in the vacation resort on the Algarve coast, about 200 km south of Lisbon. Mann will serve his sentence in England.
Of the others, 10 will also be deported to England. The 12th man was freed, the APTN reported.
The men were arrested along with a Russian and a Portuguese man after fighting broke out near the La Bamba bar in Albufeira on Monday night.
— AP
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Croatia hold France to surprise draw
Leiria, June 17 David Trezeguet rescued the holders in the 64th minute to set up a tense final round of fixtures on June 21. France lead the way with four points. England, who beat Switzerland 3-0 earlier on Thursday have three, Croatia have two and the Swiss one. France play Switzerland in the final round, needing just a draw to advance. England play Croatia, also needing a point, but Croatia and Switzerland could still qualify with wins. France started confidently, knocking the ball about crisply, but never really threatened in the opening 20 minutes. The breakthrough came out of the blue when Zinedine Zidane, who struck both goals in France's 2-1 comeback win over England on Sunday, curled a free kick from wide on the left that took a slight deflection off defender Tudor and left goalkeeper Tomislav Butina wrong-footed. The game then went into a lull with neither side showing any particular urgency until an outrageous backheeled flick by Zidane from a corner set up William Gallas for a header, which the defender wide of the post. Croatia coach Otto Baric said in the build-up to the game that he would be delighted with a draw and his side were on level terms three minutes into the second half after Mikael Silvestre bundled over Dovani Rossi in the box. French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez had saved David Beckham's penalty for England on Sunday but had no chance with Rapaic's blasted effort. The massed hordes of red and white checked Croatian fans erupted to acclaim their first goal of the tournament and four minutes later they took the roof off to celebrate the second. Prso, who earned his living in the French league for AS Monaco last season, thought he had lost possession after hooking the ball over the head of Silvestre but a miscued clearance by recalled captain Marcel Desailly returned it to him and he took full advantage by lashing the ball past Barthez. France, who had scored twice in three minutes to beat England on Sunday, were stunned but quickly collected themselves and drew level with a hotly-disputed goal in the 64th minute. Trezeguet charged down a Butina clearance, the ball hitting his arm, before slotting into the empty net from a tight angle. The Croatian players complained bitterly to Danish referee Kim Milton Nielsen but the goal stood. France then went for the win, sending on Robert Pires for the rusty-looking Sylvain Wiltord but they could not manage it. Ivica Mornar could have won it for Croatia in injury-time when he swivelled inside the six-metre box but flashed his shot over the bar and their last chance of victory was gone. Croatia, who had lost their three previous meetings, including the 1998 World Cup semifinal, also threatened on the break but at the final whistle their fans celebrated as if they had already won the title. — Reuters
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Totti or not, Italy must improve against Sweden
Lisbon, June 17 European football's governing body UEFA today suspended Italy striker Francesco Totti for three matches for spitting at Danish opponent Christian Poulsen in their Euro 2004 opener. UEFA officials announced the ban after a disciplinary hearing in a Lisbon hotel attended by Totti, Italian team officials and lawyers. Danish television caught Roma striker Totti, 27, spitting directly at the Dane during Monday's goalless draw which left the Italians, beaten by France in the final of Euro 2000, two points adrift of group pace-setters Sweden. Totti, sent off for diving in Italy's 2002 World Cup second round defeat to South Korea, arrived at Lisbon's Hotel Meridien in the morning to learn his fate. Italian media quoted the player's legal team as saying Totti was upset by the whole incident and deeply regretted it. "I am very distressed about what happened. I ask the public to forgive me. "I don't remember the incident seen in this video," Totti's advisors quoted him as saying in his submission to UEFA's disciplinary committee which had to judge the severity of his misdemeanour. "I would like you to know this was not the true Francesco Totti, it was another," Totti was quoted as saying. The player earlier arrived to hear his fate flanked by Francesco Girelli, the general manager of the Italian Football Federation, lawyers Guilia Buongiorno and Mario Galavotti and other officials from the Italian delegation. A confident Sweden will book their place in the last eight with victory. In training yesterday, Trapattoni's ''first team'' featured Totti's Roma team-mate Antonio Cassano alongside Alessandro del Piero and Christian Vieri in attack. But it was in midfield where the Italy coach hinted at more drastic changes with ac Milan pair Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso operating alongside Cristiano Zanetti at the expense of Simone Perrotta and Mauro Camoranesi. The loss of Totti would be a major setback for Trapattoni and place added responsibility on Del Piero who, in keeping with his past record in major tournaments, looked far from his best in the opener. The Swedes, though, have a different memory of the Juventus striker as he grabbed the winner two minutes from the end when Italy beat them 2-1 in a Euro 2000 group match. One sure starter for Italy is left back Gianluca Zambrotta who says the Azzurri need to show more graft and dynamism than they managed in the Denmark game. ''To win against Sweden we have to run more than them,'' he said. ''They are an excellent team with dangerous forwards. The main difference between them and Denmark is the quality the Swedes have in attack.'' That quality was certainly evident against Bulgaria with two-goal striker Henrik Larsson in top form alongside Zlatan Ibrahamovic. Sweden will be forced into at least one change with right back Teddy Lucic set to miss the game through injury. Joint coaches Tommy Soderberg and Lars Lagerback will probably ask midfielder Mikael Nilsson to slot in at right back with Christian Wilhelmsson, who came on for Lucic against Bulgaria, moving into the midfield. —Reuters
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Bulgaria keen to reproduce magic of 1994
Braga (Portugal), June 17 In the USA a decade ago, Bulgaria slipped up badly against Nigeria in their opening match before fighting back to make it through to the semi-finals. They will need to reproduce a similar recovery act to avoid an early flight back to Sofia. Striker Dimitar Berbatov told AFP: “We were beaten 3-0 by Nigeria in our first match at the ‘94 World Cup, and then made it through to the last four. We’ll just have to do the same thing again!” No one in the Bulgarian camp is kidding themselves that the road ahead is anything but rocky, especially with Denmark emerging the morale victors in their goalless draw against Italy. “I saw Denmark’s game, they’re very good and should win,” said Berbatov. “But my team is ready to move on and forget what happened in our first game.” The Bayer Leverkusen attacker disclosed the team had held a soul-searching session to try and determine what precisely went wrong in Guimareas to produce such a wretched scoreline. “We all sat down and discussed in turn our faults, the mistakes we made in that awful match, and our strengths. “There’s pressure on us, we don’t like being the only team to have been beaten 5-0. “But the mood is good - we’re all united. If you believe in yourselves you have a chance, and we believe in ourselves.” Berbatov was instrumental in getting Bulgaria to Portugal, scoring five goals in qualifying, and he’s desperate to find the target against the Danes. “I hope to score, I’m ready, the team’s ready. It’s going to be very hard. If we play like we did in the first game we’ll lose. “But we’ve got good players and now we want to show everyone the real Bulgaria. “I know my quality and I know the quality of my side.” Defender Predrag Pazin reckons Denmark’s strategy of using two wingers — Dennis Rommedahl down the right and Martin Jorgensen on the left - will be better suited to Bulgaria than Sweden’s more disciplined approach. The Serbia and Montenegro-born central defender added: “We know the Danish team quite well having played them in (2002) World Cup qualifying. They play a more technical game than Sweden which will help us.” Reports in the Bulgarian press back home talk of strife in the team, and notably a bust-up between Pazin and fellow defender Ilian Stoianov. But Pazin brushed aside any suggestions of conflict. “What’s been written ić completely untrue. There are no problems and we’re completely focussed.” Denmark have been boosted by the return of Chelsea’s Jesper Gronkjaer, who has rejoined the team after the death of his mother. Coach Morten Olsen now has a full squad to pick from as Everton midfielder Thomas Graveson is also back in the frame after being banned for the Italy match. Olsen said it would be foolhardy to read too much into the extravagant scoreline in Bulgaria’s opener. — AFP
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Euro’s hair-raising experience
Lisbon, June 17 England's official suits are designed by Giorgio Armani, Sweden's midfielder Freddie Ljungberg models Calvin Klein underwear and Italy's jerseys have been fashioned by a designer from the house of Prada, replete with their names adorned in gold. The Euro 2004 catwalk got off to a fine start with Portugal and Manchester United midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo's gold boots. They were flashy, brash and everything you'd expect from a teenager. At least the fancy footwear helped the 19-year-old to score, even though the host nation slumped to a 2-1 defeat in the curtain-raiser against Greece. When it comes to style, England of course have David Beckham.
Beckham has added a new tattoo to his already formidable collection; a winged cross, although its position on his neck and well above his shirt collar led newspaper columnist Germaine Greer to comment that he was "doing his best to disfigure himself". At least the man of a thousand hairstyles is unlikely to surprise us in Portugal considering his near skinhead cut leaves him little room for manoeuvre. Italy's appearance at the tournament was eagerly awaited, and they didn't disappoint. Admittedly they failed to score in their opening game with Denmark, but never mind the football, just look at the hair. The Danes faced wave after wave of flowing locks and neatly clipped beards and the Italians' star midfielder Francesco Totti lived up to his reputation as a player with an uncanny knack of finishing a game without a hair out of place. It was just a pity that Totti chose to re-arrange Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen's appearance by spitting at him. Just 168 minutes of football had been played when Spain striker Fernando Torres made a spectacular early bid for the award of worst haircut of Euro 2004. It will surely be hard to beat the bizarre mullet that the 20-year-old sported when he came on as a substitute against Russia. Spiky on top and with what appeared to be strands of spaghetti at the back, it also had blond highlights on the sides. The tournament is still looking for a contender to rank with the homemade mohican that German defender Christian Ziege unleashed on an unsuspecting public at the 2002 World Cup finals. It apparently reminded Ziege of Robert De Niro's character in 'Taxi Driver', fortunately, his team-mates managed to persuade him to shave it off before long. Michael Jung, Germany's top hairdresser, delivered a harsh verdict on goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, who judging by his appearance against the Netherlands seems to have abandoned the valiant efforts he made to tame his shaggy mop at the 2002 World Cup. "He looks as if he has glass fibres on his head. Horrendous. It is neither fish nor meat," Jung said. Style watchers must be licking their lips in expectation because footballers tend to change their appearance as a tournament progresses. It is hard, however, to see Kahn and co. adopting the approach of Romania whose entire squad dyed their hair peroxide blond at the 1998 World Cup. Hopefully they can produce some hair-raising exploits on the pitch to take away attention from their appearances.
— AFP |
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Asia Cup probables selection on June 20
Mumbai, June 17 The date and venue of the meeting to choose the final squad for the six-nation event would be decided later, according to cricket board sources. The conditioning camp for the July 16 to August 2 event in Sri Lanka is to be held from July 3 to 8. Currently, 26 players are undergoing a fitness-specific camp at Bangalore, which is set to conclude on June 19. The Chennai camp will be held from July 3 to 11, the same dates that were slotted earlier for Bangalore. “The decision to shift the camp was taken so that the players get conditions similar to Sri Lanka,” cricket board President Jagmohan Dalmiya said today. “It is to help the players acclimatise to the conditions. It is cool in Bangalore now whereas Chennai will be hot and humid as Colombo,” he said.
— PTI |
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Harbhajan working on ‘magic’ ball
Bangalore, June 17 "I have been working on a magic ball. I won't tell you (anymore on that). You will see it definitely... it is going to be a surprise," he told reporters here on the sidelines of the fitness camp for Asia Cup probables. Harbhajan said he had been engaged in a rehabilitation programme suggested by physio Andrew Leipus and doctors to strengthen his spinning finger and now he was "200 per cent fit". "I have started bowling since the last one month or so. I am feeling confident the way it's going. I have been working on fitness. Let's see how it works. I just can't wait getting into the middle. I am waiting for the matches to start," he said. Harbhajan said every single match he had to sit out because of injury was frustrating. "Not only Pakistan tour. Australia was the most frustrating. I wanted to do well there. Unfortunately, I could not play the full series. I just played one Test and got injured," he said. "It was frustrating to sit out and watch. But whatever has happened has happened. I just want to continue with fitness and hard work. I am looking forward to Asia Cup and Test matches," Harbhajan said. Asked if he felt he had justified the expectations reposed on him after the 2001 series against Australia when he tormented Australian batsmen and took 32 wickets, Harbhajan said he thought he had done well. "After the Australia series, I was number two bowler in the world continuously for two years. I had taken 63 wickets in one season and 64 wickets in the next season which is good," he said but added that now he would have to start from scratch again. "Now I have to start everything again. More like an under-19 boy who wants to play for India. Whatever I had done, that's gone. Now I have to start my career again, and hopefully do the same thing as I had been doing for the country (before the injury)". "I will be happy to win matches for India like I had been doing." On Sourav Ganguly's comment that he was keen to see Harbhajan fit before the series against Australia, the spinner said it was a matter of pride for him that the captain wanted him in the team. Asked if it was an ideal situation to return to one-day cricket (Asia Cup) after the injury lay-off, Harbhajan said he thought it was okay. "I am just looking forward to the matches, no matter Tests or one-dayers". Before the Asia Cup that starts in Colombo on July 16, Harbhajan said he would be playing some matches for his company Indian Airlines to gain match practice. —PTI
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Unethical of PCB to sack me: Miandad Islamabad, June 17 Miandad, who was replaced with Bob Woolmer yesterday, said he had decided to quit after the Board refused to grant him powers relating to team selection. "I had told them clearly to give me more authority and power. I had asked for a team of my choice. They said this was difficult so I told them to go ahead and do what is best for Pakistan cricket," the 47-year-old former captain said. "I felt if I was not getting what I want to make the team improve its performance, it was no use to carry on like this. But we reached a mutual understanding that they will honour my remaining contractual terms and conditions and I will step down myself," he was quoted as saying in local daily 'The News' today. Miandad aid it was "unethical to announce Woolmer's appointment and my sacking in one breath. It is unfair that you have one person under contract and bargain with another for the same post.
— PTI |
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Directive to Shoaib Lahore:
The Pakistan Cricket Board has asked express bowler Shoaib Akhtar to join the national training camp here from June 28 if he wished to be considered for the team for next month’s Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. PCB chief executive Rameez Raja also clarified that the board had no “personal grouse” with the fast bowler and said, “we have said before that we only took the decision not to consider him for the Asia Cup on his own advice. And because his county Durham informed us he wanted to recover completely from a rib cage injury and be available for the ICC Champions Trophy in September. “But now since he insists he is fit and playing for Durham and performing well for them we have spoken to him and told him to join the training camp in Lahore,” he added. However, Rameez was quick to reiterate the Board’s directive to Shoaib to undergo a stringent fitness test before being considered for the
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Anjali, Abhinav disappoint at Milan meet New Delhi, June 17 If Anjali Bhagwat recorded an ordinary 395 and ranked 13 alongside three others in women’s air rifle, Abhinav Bindra was below par in registering 590 and was placed joint 33rd in the men’s event yesterday. The other two Indians at the tournament also fared no better.
The events witnessed some top quality shooting with both Min Ho Cheon of Korea and Russian Sergie Kovalenko scoring an incredible 103.6 in the men’s final. The gold went to Cheon, who had a 598 in the preliminary round for a total of 701.6 as against Kovalenko’s 698. One-tenth of a point separated the silver and bronze medallists. Jozef Gonci of Slovakia was tied with the Russian on 595 in the preliminaries, but lost narrowly with a 103.5 in the final. The women’s gold went to German Sonja Pfeilschifter whose 398 in the preliminary was behind the 399 from the Czech Republic’s Katerina Kurkova and Eun Young Cho of Korea. But Sonja shot a stunning 104.5 in the final to push both her rival down in the final analysis.
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Uppal ousts Sunil Kumar New Delhi, June 17 Sunil Kumar, who had made an early exit in the first leg at Indore, was expected to do well here. He got off the blocks promisingly, but could not sustain his form for long, and allowed Vishal Uppal to breach his defence to wrest the first set in the tie-breaker. Sunil looked like regaining the initiative in the second set, which he won, but once again lapsed into errors in the third, to capitulate. In a battle of the baseliners, Sunil Kumar’s powerful groundstrokes and steady returns often unsettled Delhi boy Vishal, who, however, kept pushing, and succeeded in edging out Sunil. Vishal will take on Aqeel Khan of Pakistna in the semifinal. Aqueel Khan had to wage a tiresome battle to conquer Ross Hutchins of the UK 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4. Vinod Sridhar, the third seed, disposed off qualifier Mait Kunnap 6-4, 6-2 in an easy quarterfinal outing. |
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