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Monday,
May 27, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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First
security breach at World Cup |
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Portugal
happy, others find flaws Italy
await news on Inzaghi injury Defiant
Keane refuses to apologise 5
players serving suspensions Lack of
discipline, poor captaincy led to loss
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Leboeuf saves France the blushes
Suwon (South Korea), May 26 South Korea gave the world and European champions a major fright by exposing holes in their defence with strikes from Park Ji-Sung and Seol Ki-Hyeon giving the home side a 2-1 half-time lead. France, who first went ahead through David Trezeguet, equalised in the second half through substitute Christophe Dugarry. Lebeouf fired in a shot off the crossbar in the final minute of ordinary time to secure the win. After a 1-2 defeat by Belgium in their previous international, this performance five days from the World Cup opening match against Senegal was hardly what French coach Roger Lemerre will have wanted to see. But
South Korea’s Dutch coach Guus Hiddink must have been delighted with
his unfancied side’s latest performance against a top European side
after beating Scotland 4-1 and drawing 1-1 with England in the past
two weeks. France seemed at their best when Trezeguet put them ahead after 16 minutes. Thierry Henry, supposedly suffering from knee ligament trouble, shot away from his marker down the left wing and crossed the ball for the Juventus striker to volley past Korean goalkeeper Kim Bjung-Ji over head height. Park
Ji-Sung’s equaliser in the 26th minute was equally brilliant. Kim
Nam-Il passed the ball through from the Korean half and Park easily
beat French captain Marcel Desailly and powered his left-foot shot
past goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. With Hiddink and Lemerre both busy shouting orders from the touchline, South Korea could not believe it when they gained control and took the lead, even though Trezeguet had a second goal ruled offside. Zinedine Zidane, who missed the Belgium defeat in Paris because of the birth of his third child, came off in the 38th minute and sat on the bench applying an ice pack to his left thigh. Almost immediately he saw Lee Young-Pyo put a free kick into the French penalty area where Desailly and fellow defensive lynchpin Bixente Lizarazu failed to pick up Anderlecht striker Seol Ki-Hyeon, who had a free header for the second goal. Desailly’s
hands went up in disgust and though Patrick Vieira’s screaming 41st
minute shot went just wide, South Korea had the better of the first
half. Lemerre brought on Dugarry as a half-time substitute for
Trezeguet and in the 53rd minute he picked up Youri Djorkaeff’s free
kick to also get a free header in the left hand side of the penalty
area for the equaliser. South Korea became more nervous but substitute Cha Du-Ri again breached the French defence only to see his shot held by Barthez. Desailly was then replaced by Manchester United-based Mikael Sylvestre and Wiltord was ruled offside after his shot beat Kim Byung-Ji. Leboeuf brought last minute relief to the French camp by confidently chesting the ball down in the Korean penalty area and firing in off the cross-bar.
Camroon hold England KOBE: A Robbie Fowler header on the stroke of full
time earned England a 2-2 draw with Cameroon here today but it was
another unconvincing display from Sven Goran Eriksson’s injury-hit
squad. A 58th minute free-kick from Real Madrid’s Fotso Geremi
looked set to earn Cameroon a deserved victory after Darius Vassell
had cancelled out a Samuel Eto’o’s opener for the African and
Olympic champions. With both sides making wholescale changes, the
match lost some of its intensity in the second half but Cameroon did
enough in the first period to suggest they could be on track to repeat
their 1990 exploits, when the ‘Indomitable Lions’ became the first
African side to reach the World Cup quarter-finals. For England,
another disappointing display underlined how desperately bereft of
ideas Eriksson’s squad are without the passing skill of Steven
Gerrard and David Beckham. Gerrard is missing the World Cup with a
groin injury while Beckham, recovering from a broken foot, is looking
increasingly doubtful for England’s opening match against Sweden on
June 2. Cameroon had gone ahead in the 5th minute after stand-in
goalkeeper Nigel Martyn misjudged the flight of Pierre Wome’s cross
from the left. Martyn, standing-in for David Seaman who was rested
as he tries to shake off a groin strain, could only watch in horror as
the ball floated over his head and bounced back off the far post to
leave Eto’o with an easy finish from six yards. England got back
on level terms seven minutes later after some combative tackling by
Michael Owen to win the ball 40 yards out. The Liverpool striker fed
Paul Scholes who threaded a fine pass between Cameroon’s centrebacks
for Vassell to slot home. But it was Cameroon who dominated from
then on, the African and Olympic champions switching the ball
impressively as they sought to create openings for the lively Patrick
Mboma and Eto’o up front. Mboma should have put the Africans ahead in the 28th minute after good work by Geremi down the right. Mboma got in front of Rio Ferdinand to meet the cross but could only head straight into the arms of Martyn. Geremi
also went close, grazing the top of the cross bar from a freekick
after Owen Hargreaves pulled down Eto’o on the edge of the area a
minute before half-time. The Real Madrid wingback finally got the reward for his efforts in the 58th minute after another reckless England tackle just outside the area. Geremi lifted his free kick over the wall and in off the post. Second-half substitutes Fowler and Teddy Sheringham gave the England forward line a more imaginative look. But it was Cameroon again who looked the more likely to score in the latter stages before Fowler produced his late, late show to save England blushes.
AFP |
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France suffer Zidane scare Suwon, May 26 Coach Roger Lemerre admitted that the team were worried about Zidane and were anxiously waiting to hear the result of tests on his left thigh. The former world player of the year left the field in the 38th minute of France’s last warm-up match before starting the defence of the World Cup that Zidane played a key role in winning in 1998. He was later seen on the bench putting an ice pack on his left thigh. Lemerre said after the game that Zidane “had a small sensation of a rupture in his left thigh. We think that some small muscle fibres may have given and when it is a muscle we are always very worried because we don’t know how long it will last. “We must wait for the doctor’s diagnosis. This evening there are only 22 players and the team is less strong.” Zidane missed France’s 1-2 defeat to Belgium last weekend because he was with his wife for the birth of their third child and only arrived at the team’s Japanese training camp late last week.
AFP |
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Senegal hope to match Cameroon Tottori (Japan), May 26 The draw has put underdogs Senegal against defending champions France in the opener of the 2002 world championship tournament. In
Friday’s game, the Africans hope to match what Cameroon did in 1990
and Belgium achieved in 1982. Both were 1-0 opening game winners over
then defending champions Argentina. Over the past year, Senegal have proved themselves a force to be reckoned with, surprising friend and foe to reach their first World Cup and then advancing to the final of the African Cup. Coach
Bruno Metsu, however, is happy with the underdogs’ role. “The
French are the world champions and we are just small upstarts. We will
fight, work and do the utmost to compensate for their talent,” the
Frenchman said in an interview. Upstarts can achieve amazing
results. Africa’s ascendancy in world soccer started on the opening
day of the 1990 World Cup when the Argentina of Diego Maradona was
expected to roll over a bunch of no-names from Cameroon. Instead, Cameroon overcame the South Americans in a stirring contest, Roger Milla became a World Cup star, and the Africans only narrowly lost to England in the quarterfinals. The
opening loss wasn’t fatal to Argentina, who reached the final before
losing to Germany. In 1982, after the Argentines lost their opener to Belgium, both teams lost in the second round. If
Cameroon players are the Indomitable Lions, the Senegalese are the
Lions of Teranga — and they are just as hungry. “We want to show
we have guts,” said star forward Elhadj Diouf. The defence of
towering men seems a guarantee France won’t rumble over them, even
if Senegalese-born giant Patrick Vieira is now part of Les Bleus. The
Senegalese defence had been struggling, conceding three goals in a
warm up game against Saudi Arabia, but looked solid again in a 1-0
victory against Ecuador in Tottori last Thursday. “We still have
some small problems, but nothing comparable to what we had against
Saudi Arabia,” Metsu said. In midfield, they have the creativity
of people like the mercurial Khalilou Fadiga and Salif Diao. Their
greatest weapon, though, stands up front — African Player of the
Year Diouf.
AP |
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First security breach at World Cup Seoul, May 26 The man used a passport lost by a journalist for the British newspaper, the Sunday Mirror, to get the document in Seoul, police said. With the accreditation, the man can enter any of the 20 World Cup stadia in South Korea and Japan where the tournament will be held. The suspect could also get into the two main press centres in Seoul and Yokohama, Japan. According to police, the suspect left for Japan on May 20 with a fake passport and they have asked for the help of Interpol, the international police organisation, to identify the suspect and also increased security precautions at World Cup facilities. South Korean and Japanese authorities have already ordered major security precautions after the September 11 attacks in the USA last year. The security measures being taken for the World Cup are the most comprehensive ever witnessed in sport — from missile batteries at stadiums to satellite monitoring to massive crowd control by undercover agents. The September 11 attacks in the United States have only increased the elaborate measures that were already in the planning stage last year. The stadium clampdowns are only a part - the measures already begin at air- and seaports. “Terrorists will not be able to enter the country,’’ is the flat assertion of Hur Jeong Chul, spokesman for South Korea’s National Police Authority. There have been similar utterances from Japan, where officials have joined with those from South Korea and the USA to produce lists of potential terrorists which have been distributed to all points in the two host nations. The movements of the 32 participating squads are being monitored by satellite, and their hotels are being closely guarded round the clock by plainclothes police. The airspace over the two countries’ 20 stadiums being used in the tournament is being closed down two hours before each match through until one hour after the final whistle. Air force radar installations and AWACS early warning aircraft will supply a constant flow of monitoring data, and in South Korea the authorities have even decided to set up anti-aircraft missile batteries at stadiums to augment regular jet fighter patrols. Police in both countries have been given
special training in dealing with terrorist bombing attempts or attacks using biological weapons.
AFP/DPA |
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Portugal happy, others find flaws Yokohama, May 26 China, a newcomer that has warned its fans not to expect too much, was the only World Cup squad that lost in six warm up matches yesterday. Its 0-2 loss to Portugal followed two other defeats in the last week - 2-0 to Uruguay and 1-0 to Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. But four-time champions Brazil found shortcomings even in drubbing non-qualifier Malaysia 4-0 and winning the hearts of Malaysian spectators. Sweden were unhappy with their attack in a 1-1 draw with fellow World Cup qualifier Japan. Ireland suffered another blow to its midfield when Jason McAteer hurt his knee in a 2-1 victory over Japanese club side Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Midfielder Roy Keane, kicked off Ireland’s team after out spoken criticism of training facilities, said in England there was no chance he would return, despite efforts by Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and others to persuade him. Keane, who was called a “disruptive influence” by coach Mick McCarthy, said he did not feel guilty about leaving the team without its top star. The deadline has passed for replacing him on the 23-man roster. Off the field, organisers had a security worry after a man posing as a reporter for the British newspaper Sunday Mirror tricked South Korea’s organising committee into issuing credentials that would allow him into World Cup matches. The police said a special task force was trying to find the man. South Korea also was trying to contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth livestock disease, and has asked World Cup teams and visitors not to bring in meat products. Turkey’s team was allowed to bring in 170 kg of cheese yesterday only after submitting a certificate saying the product was made with
pasteurised milk, said Mr Choi Il-Soo, a quarantine official. AP |
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Italy await news on Inzaghi injury Tokyo, May 26 Inzaghi was hurt in the 29th minute of the match and will undergo a scan tomorrow to determine the extent of the injury which will be a worry to coach Giovanni Trapattoni as the AC Milan man missed a large chunk of last season with a similar injury. “We were worried because he felt pain in his left knee just as he set up the second goal,” said team doctor Andrea Ferretti. “The knee is not swollen but the pain increased as time went on and now we must wait to see the results of a scan tomorrow”, Ferretti told reporters, although Trapattoni was keen to stress that he was optimistic a bout his top scorer’s chances of making a full recovery. AS Roma forward Francesco Totti set up most of Italy’s attacks in the rain — a good preparation for the finals which will be held during the rainy season here. The first goal was a perfect combination with Totti’s left corner kick, which Inzaghi jumped for a header into the right side in the 13th minute. Eleven minutes later, Totti set up another ideal goal by sending the ball from the left midfield to Inzaghi on the right. Inzaghi turned it back for Christian Vieri, who fired a left-footer from just outside the Kashima area. Kashima, without six internationals, had two chances with shots by Takuya Nozawa and Tomoyuki Hirase in the 31st and 37th minutes, but Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon caught them with ease. Alessandro Del Piero came in with Inter Milan midfielder Luigi di Biagio from the start of the second half, but Kashima seemed to grab the momentum for some 10 minutes. Kashima’s Brazilian duo missed the net in the 52nd minute when Augusto sent the ball on a corner for Fabiano, whose header went too wide. But Kashima finally scored to delight home fans one minute later. Akira Narahashi’s cross from the right was cut by Parma defender Fabio Cannavaro, but the rebound slowly rolled in the area, allowing Hirase to cash in. However, it woke up the visitors, who dominated the rest of the match with Del Piero creating several scoring chances. They only allowed Hirase to hit a heading shot in the eighth minute — which substitute keeper Francesco Toldo easily punched out. Italy, who were drawn with Ecuador, Croatia and Mexico in Group G, will play Sendai Youth on Thursday before the finals kick off on May 31 in Seoul.
AFP |
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Defiant Keane refuses to apologise London, May 26 In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, the Manchester United star said: “I don’t feel an ounce of guilt about my part in what has happened.” “I will return to Ireland next week and walk down the main street in Cork with my head held high. I have nothing to be ashamed of.” “Apologies? I don’t think I should be apologising. If anything, I believe it is for others to apologise to me.” His departure from the tournament came after he criticised the squad’s training facilities at their Pacific Island base. He later became involved in a “slanging match” with Irish manager Mick McCarthy in what were intended to be “clear-the-air” talks. In the interview, Keane stressed his pride in the Irish nation but dismissed attempts by Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and other influential figures to persuade him to change his mind. “There is absolutely no chance of that happening, never in a million years. I won’t be going back to Japan,” said a defiant Keane who was yesterday at his home in Cheshire, northern England, besieged by reporters. The 31-year-old star said he would only play for the Republic again if McCarthy was no longer in charge and claimed much of what had been written about his dramatic expulsion from the tournament was nonsense. Keane admitted verbally abusing McCarthy and accepted he was “no angel”. But he denied calling the manager an “Englishman not an Irishman” and said he had been right to raise concerns about the Irish team’s preparations for the tournament. He claimed two of the players agreed with his comments and said he should have stuck with his original decision to walk away from the World Cup. McCarthy said the abuse levelled at him left him no alternative but to send the country’s most high-profile player home. Meanwhile, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson entered the row when he revealed that he had wanted Keane to stay at home and not to travel to the World Cup.
AFP |
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5 players serving suspensions Yokohama, May 26 Chilavert, a goalkeeper who regularly scores from free kicks, will miss the game against South Africa on June 2 as he completes a three-match suspension for spitting at Brazil’s Roberto Carlos in a qualifying match. Soccer’s world governing body said Mexico’s Johan Rodriguez will have to sit out the game against Croatia on June 3, while team mate Jesus Arellano will miss that match and the one against Ecuador on June 9. Senegal’s Pape Sarr is ruled out of the tournament’s opening game against world champions France on Friday, while Nigeria’s Ifeanyi Udeze will not face Argentina on June 2. None of the four are as well-known internationally as Chilavert, Paraguay’s captain, spokesman, and national team icon for more a decade with ambitions to be president of his country. He has scored more than 50 goals from free kicks and penalties during his career, and loves to taunt the opposition, already declaring he will score against Spain on June 7 in Jeonju, South Korea. “I’ve got Spain in my sights because I’m going to score against them from a free kick in the World Cup,’’ he told reporters in Italy, where Paraguay were preparing for the tournament. The countries drew 0-0 in a first-round match at the 1998 World Cup, at which Paraguay qualified for the second round and Spain did not. The 36-year-old played in all four of his team’s World Cup matches in France four years ago but failed to achieve his ambition of becoming the first goalkeeper to score at a World Cup. Chilavert has also entered the controversy over the South Korean custom of eating dog meat, saying those who protest against it are culturally insensitive.
Reuters |
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Rain plays spoilsport again Kingston, Jamaica, May 26 Match referee Mike Proctor made a visit to Sabina Park early in the morning to look at the condition of the ground and decided to call off the game because of huge puddles on the outfield. “There is just too much rain,” Proctor told Reuters. “We have called off the match because there is no way we’ll be able to play on that ground even if the rain stops now.” It rained all through Saturday night and Sunday morning in Kingston. “It’s really sad for all involved, for the fans and the players. We don’t even have a chance to make up for this loss because of the tight schedule. It’s effectively a three-match series now,” Proctor said. The next match is scheduled for Barbados on Wednesday with India looking to salvage some pride after going down 1-2 in the Test series, which finished last week. India were expected to leave out Vangipurappu Laxman for the Jamaica one-dayers, despite his 474 runs in the Test series, and ask Rahul Dravid to keep wickets as they went for a young side packed with one-day specialists. The West Indies had shortlisted 12 players, leaving out all-rounder Gareth Breese. The series will end with back-to-back matches in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on June 1 and 2. Squads: India:
Saurav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Dinesh Mongia, Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Tinu Yohannan, Vangipurappu Laxman, Ashish Nehra, Murali Kartik, Ajay Ratra. West Indies:
Carl Hooper (captain), Wavell Hinds, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ridley Jacobs, Mervyn Dillon, Cameron Cuffy, Corey Collymore, Ryan Hinds, Pedro Collins, Gareth Breese.
Reuters |
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Lack of discipline, poor captaincy led to loss New Delhi, May 26 “Saurav Ganguly is no God’s gift to Indian cricket, certainly not as a captain. He sets a bad example when leading from the front... he is the laziest b***** in the Indian team,” former Indian captain Bishen Singh Bedi said in the TV show “Line of Fire”, hosted by Karan Thapar and also featuring former captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and Abbas Ali
Baig. “We lacked discipline which is why we were unable to see through (the opposition). We got into a winning position and then lost,” Pataudi said in the programme to be telecast by SABe TV tomorrow. Comparing India’s overseas record with that of arch-rivals Pakistan, Pataudi said, “Pakistan are more hungry to win while the Indians seem to be a bit relaxed.” According to
Baig, preconceived notions with which the team was selected was another factor that led to the team’s defeat. “The selectors had preconceived notions about the pitches being fast and bouncy... and left the potential match-winner (Anil Kumble) out in two matches. We are not really changing, not being adaptable to changing conditions,” Baig said. Bedi also said India failed to play as a team. “It was not a case of better team winning because individually Indians were a lot better. But it is not an individual game. The West Indies beat India as a team, India lost because they played as a bunch of individuals,” he said. The legendary left-arm spinner was apprehensive of Indians’ preoccupation with statistics, which he said was undermining Indian cricket. “Statistics is spoiling Indian cricket. We have lost the series and we go talking about Sachin (Tendulkar) scoring 8,000 runs,” Bedi said. Both Pataudi and Baig too wanted the Indian fans to give more credence to team performance than that to the individual. “The games seems to be more popular whether we win or lose. The public should be more keen on the team winning rather than on the individual performances.” But both differed with the Sardar’s opinion on Ganguly. “I don’t think he is as bad a captain as people make him out to be. There are criticisms he has to face but there are other things about him that have to be recommended,” Pataudi said. Pataudi also refused to believe that Ganguly was a victim of Mumbai lobby. “I don’t see that. Indian cricket is not entirely about Mumbai. There are cricketers from Delhi and South. If anybody thinks so, it is only in the mind.” On India struggling to find a regular opening pair, the legends felt that lack of consistency in team selection was the root cause. “The very appointment of the selectors is dicey. Each one comes from a zone and they try and pick a member from their zone so that they could justify their sitting on the selection committee,” Baig said. Bedi said that fast bowlers have to have more aggression in their game. “Fast bowling is the hardest job... It is about killer instinct, will power and a
destructive mind to destroy the man at the other end. (But) we still believe in Gandhian principles, if someone slaps on one cheek offer him the other,” Bedi remarked. Asked what the West Indian defeat will mean to Indian cricket, Pataudi’s reply was at once tragic and realistic. “It will mean nothing at all. I don’t think it will change the attitude as far as the board is concerned which is still a bunch of amateurs running a game which is supposed to have turned professional many years ago. “The one-day series is still to come, and if we win people will forget what happened in the Tests. So nothing is going to change.”
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