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Time for Leo to roar
Mexico survive hostile opener
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Confident, but don’t know why: Cannavaro
‘Try not to overthink’
Playing the vuvuzela
Afridi backs Shoaib Akhtar
India look to reclaim pride in T20s against Zimbabwe
Modi’s third reply by Tuesday
IWHF meeting illegal: Stokes
Jeev tied 12th after Rd1 of St Jude Classic
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Time for Leo to roar
Pretoria, June 11
"Let there really be fair play, let the referees understand what the words fair play mean," Argentina's coach, targetting fouling, told a news conference. Argentina make their Group B entrance on Saturday against Nigeria, a team he described as "rough and hard and we're prepared for that".
Maradona, speaking a few hours before the tournament's opening match between hosts South Africa and Mexico, suggested that when the FIFA yellow Fair Play banner is carried on to the pitch before matches by a quartet of boys it should not remain an empty gesture.
"Let's not abandon the little boys," said Maradona, accused of cheating after his handball goal helped Argentina to a 2-1 quarter-final win over England on their way to lifting their second world title in Mexico in 1986." When the fair play (slogan) was introduced in 1990 I was kicked so hard they almost knocked my head off against Cameroon," Maradona said. Cameroon upset then title holders Argentina 1-0 in the opening match of the World Cup in Italy 20 years ago but their rugged defence had two players sent off. "And we had to swallow the yellow card of (Claudio) Caniggia's hand ball and compared with the kick I got from Cameroon he was Heidi," Maradona said. Caniggia, Argentina's best forward at the 1990 tournament, was suspended for that second yellow in the tournament and missed the Rome final which Argentina lost 1-0 to West Germany. Argentina have faced Nigeria twice before in the group stage at the World Cup, beating them 2-1 in the U.S. in 1994 and 1-0 in Japan in 2002. — Reuters
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Mexico survive hostile opener
Johannesburg, June 11 Mexico, who had started brighter, equalised after 79 minutes when Rafael Marquez capitalised on some poor defending and picked his spot to score. Although South Africa was denied victory, the excitement of the day, against an endless drone of noise from thousands of vuvuzelas, lifted the mood. But it was a bitter-sweet occasion for millions who woke to the news that Zenani Mandela, the 13-year-old great grand-daughter of former president Nelson Mandela had been killed in a car crash on Friday night. Mandela, 91, cancelled plans to attend the match which began after opening addresses from FIFA president Sepp Blatter and South Africa president Jacob Zuma who declared the World Cup open. Mexico took control early on as South Africa made a nervy start with Giovani Dos Santos running the midfield and setting up chances for himself, Guillermo Franco and Carlos Vela as South Africa were forced on the back foot. — Reuters |
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Confident, but don’t know why: Cannavaro
The fact so few press turned up to see the 2006 World Cup-winning captain in what will be his last major tournament is another indication that few expect the Azzurri to make any major impact in South Africa given recent poor friendly displays. If fans were not already clear about Italy's problems, Cannavaro kindly listed their deficiencies. "The friendlies weren't as good as four years ago so people are sceptical," he said, dressed in a dark t-shirt which reflected a somewhat sombre mood. "Maybe we don't have a star like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, (Wayne) Rooney. We can't play like Brazil, Spain or Portugal." Coach Marcello Lippi has also been employing various formations in training and the players still do not know what system he will use in their Group F opener against Paraguay in Cape Town on Monday.
— Reuters |
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‘Try not to overthink’
After seven years in English football Howard knows more than a little about defying Premier League sharp-shooters, and so I ask him whether the American coach Bob Bradley is relying on him to supply vital intelligence. "Maybe a little bit," he says, "but scouting and video analysis is so thorough now that it won't rest on my shoulders." Nevertheless, he must have watched the likes of Rooney and Jermain Defoe over the course of the English season knowing that in Rustenberg he might have to combat their guile? "Well, yeah, but soccer is so improvisational, it's not about set plays. A guy like Rooney, you ask what his tendencies are, and the answer is that he can shoot with his left foot, his right foot, he's a great header of the ball, he can chase it down, he's clever, he has a good touch. The same thing with Defoe. He pulls the trigger from anywhere, he's like a cat inside the box. You try not to over-think as a goalkeeper. You use your instincts and hope that lots of experience in England will help. When you play at the highest level, you know you're going to be tested." Whatever unfolds in the Royal Bafokeng stadium tomorrow, there's little doubt that Howard will be inspired rather than intimidated by facing a team he fully expects to reach the last four, if not the last two. "I might be putting a jinx on them but I believe in this England team. In England they're under such a microscope that it's difficult for people to step back and say, these are a really good bunch of players. But Rooney, Defoe, Terry, Barry, Lampard, Gerrard, Ashley Cole... these are not young kids, these are seasoned, mature players with a heck of a lot to offer in this World Cup. It would not surprise me, hand on heart, to see them in the semi-final fighting for a place in the final." And what level of success for the USA would surprise him? The quarter-finals again? Perhaps even beyond? Howard n who as fourth-choice keeper didn't quite make it into the 2002 squad, and was number two behind Kasey Keller in the USA's disappointing 2006 campaign and welcomes such a thrilling notion with a grin and a sensible sense of perspective.
— By arrangement with The Independent |
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"Our vuvuzelas have the purest sound and they are the easiest to blow. A two-year-old could play it," said Cape Town-based Neil van Schalkwyk, who developed the vuvuzela seven years ago and whose sales have grown from 500 a month to 50,000. "Our vuvuzelas also have a much more comfortable mouth-piece. I think at the end of the World Cup we'll see a lot of people with cut, sore lips," he added. Watching the horn sold everywhere from street corners to airport duty free shops and listening to the cacophony of vuvuzela blasts ringing out through the city, Van Schalkwyk, a plastics expert and mould maker, says he feels very proud. With a background in toolmaking, the 37-year-old football fan watched people taking home-made tin horns to games in the 1990s and decided to try producing his own in plastic. Van Schalkwyk initially named his horn the boogie-blaster, but fans dubbed it the vuvuzela - which means 'pump' or 'lift up' - and the fad was born. — Reuters
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Afridi backs Shoaib Akhtar
Afridi backed Akhtar's inclusion into the 15-man squad for Asia Cup, starting June 15, saying he expects the Rawalpindi Express to return with a bang. He said Akhtar has been training hard to get in shape after being out of competitive cricket for over a year, and is raring to perform on the international stage. "Shoaib is looking sharp and working really hard for the Asia Cup. He is really motivated and I'm expecting him to return with a bang," said the flamboyant all rounder. Afridi also rubbished reports regarding Akhtar, 34, not being fully fit. "I don't know who is spreading such false rumours. There is nothing wrong with Shoaib. He is fully fit and it's showing in his output during training sessions. He is going that extra mile which is a great sign for us," he said.
— ANI Bangladesh recall Ashraful
"He batted well in the World Twenty20 and made a fine half century against Pakistan. He also looked in good touch in the practice matches in England," Alam told AFP. Middle-order batsman Jahurul Islam, who played in the recent Test series in England, finds a place in the one-day squad, while injury-plagued Syed Rasel was back after an absence of six months. Bangladesh's squad: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Jahurul Islam, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Suhrawadi Shuvo. Coach: Jamie Siddons (AUS).
— AFP |
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India look to reclaim pride in T20s against Zimbabwe
The host team, which lost the tri-series final to Sri Lanka, would be plotting another shocker for the Indians tomorrow. The break that followed their tri-series ouster has given Suresh Raina's men enough time to chalk out their plans to avoid another stunner from Elton Chigumbura's fighting side. The key to India's success is batting and the line-up is desperately missing the heavyweights, who were rested from the series. Dinesh Karthik and M Vijay are not exactly the ideal opening pair for Twenty20s as both the batsmen are known to take their time in settling down at the crease before attempting strokes. In fact, the duo couldn't make much of an impact in the ODI series failing to score any memorable knock. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Raina himself are the men in form and would look to continue their run in the two Twenty20s. A lot would be expected from Twenty20 specialist Yusuf Pathan, who would be aiming to prove his worth after being dropped from the ODI squad for the upcoming Asia Cup owing to poor run of form. On the bowling front, the Indian spin attack would be bolstered by the arrival of Piyush Chawla as Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha have not made a mark so far on the tour.
— PTI |
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Mumbai, June 11 Modi was served the third show cause notice, which also raised questions over the awarding of the 150-second commercial slot in between balls during IPL 3, by BCCI on May 31. He has already replied to two earlier notices slapped on him by the Board accusing him of financial irregularities, manipulating the bidding for new franchises and trying to destroy the structure of world and Indian cricket. The first reply ran over 15000 pages, including a staggering number of supporting documents, while the second one was a 24-page response. Modi asked for and was granted 15 days' grace period to file replies on the first two occasions but has not asked for another extension to file the reply to the third notice. Meanwhile, the BCCI has convened a meeting with all 10 IPL franchise representatives on June 24 followed by the League's Governing Council meeting the next day. — PTI
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IWHF meeting illegal: Stokes
New Delhi, June 11 She said no office-bearer or individual, except the president, can call a meeting of the Executive Board or General Council of the IWHF. The meeting has been called by former secretry of the IWHF Amrit Bose, who is now aligned with the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), whose suspension has been lifted by a ruling of the Delhi High Court recently. In fact, the IHF, headed by KPS Gill, has already gained some ligitimacy as its general council meeting in Delhi on June 6, was attended by an observer of the Union Sports Ministry. Stokes pointed out that the IWHF was disaffiliated by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) in 2000 as its merger with the IHF to form a unified body of Indian Hockey Confederation (IHC), as mandated by the FIH, had "inherent deficiencies" and therfore, in 2008, the FIH decided to disassociate itself from the IHC and thereafter Hockey India came into being. The formation of the IHC was meant to handle the hockey affairs of both men and women at the domestic and international level, but the merger process was unacceptable to the FIH." Stokes said during the merger of the IHF and the IWHF, the IWHF secretary (Mrs Bose) attended all the board meetings of Hockey India "in which merged unites were approved from November 2009 to January 2010". She said the "mergers were also approved and verified by the Government of India and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports observers, IOA and FIH", adding that "the merger was done with the women getting their due share, and each member (State/UT) will send two representatives to Hockey India for which one will be a male and another female". "Smt. Bose informed that the IWHF has already conveyed its written acceptance to the IOA for the proposed merger (with Hockey India), and would comply with all the reguirements in this regard", Stokes noted. She said since hosting of the World Cup in India was at stake, "I, as president of the IWHF, gave consent to president of the IOA, vide letter dated 3rd December, 2008, bearing No IWHF/48/132/246, giving consent of the IWHF to merge into the new body Hockey India for running men and women hockey in India". |
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Jeev tied 12th after Rd1 of St Jude Classic
Memphis (USA), June 11 The Chandigarh-golfer was off to a fine start by striking a birdie on the third hole. He picked up another shot on the fifth before an eighth hole bogey had him one-under at the turn. On his way back, Jeev stumbled to a bogey on the 10th but made amends by gaining strokes on the 13th, 16th and 18th to sign off a reasonably good day. At the top, England's Lee Weswood sparked with a 63 to take the sole lead.
— PTI |
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Irene, June 11
Having reached the last eight of the World Cup in 2002, beating Portugal on the way, USA are minnows no longer. Indeed, during a South African winter only 12 months ago they were good enough to overcome mighty Spain to reach the final of the Confederations Cup, albeit a result which relied to a large extent on the impenetrable last line of Yankee defence: goalkeeper Tim Howard. Can the man who thwarted Fernando Torres and Co back then thwart Wayne Rooney and Co now? That is among the more interesting questions to be resolved in Rustenberg tomorrow.
CAPE TOWN: When choosing a vuvuzela at the World Cup you put your money where your mouth is. The ubiquitous plastic trumpet, embraced as an emblem of the World Cup by South Africans and visitors alike, sells for between 20 rand ($2.6) for a simple Chinese import to 60 rand for a more contoured instrument, produced in South Africa.
Karachi, June 11
Harare, June 11