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Netherlands have it easy
Tevez double, referee do Mexico in
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Part 1 of 2
Serena downs Sharapova
Time for Torres to deliver
MS Gill felicitates Chandigarh
football team
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Durban, June 28
The victory sends the Dutch into a last eight meeting with the winners of Monday’s other second round match between Brazil and Chile on Friday. In his 71 minutes on the pitch, Robben was at the heart of all of the most threatening moves from a Dutch team who had otherwise looked as devoid of flair as they had when grinding out three wins in their group matches. Slovakia, who sent holders Italy packing with a 3-2 upset on Thursday, had few opportunities and those they had were foiled by Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg. Robben, who missed the first two matches of the campaign with a hamstring injury but was instrumental in the winning Dutch goal as a substitute in the final match against Cameroon, made an almost immediate impact at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. Sneijder’s superb long ball out of defence gave him room to run at the Slovaks and he sprinted towards goal before cutting inside two defenders outside the penalty area and drilling a left-footed shot into the corner of Jan Mucha’s net. Robben nearly scored a second goal from a similar position at the start of the second half but this time Mucha got a hand to the ball to send it around the post. The Dutch had a double scare with clear chances for Miroslav Stoch and Vittek in the 67th minute but Stekelenburg was equal to both of them. However, the game was over in the 84th minute when, after a quick free, Dirk Kuyt beat Mucha to the ball and he squared to Sneijder to sidefoot into an empty net from the penalty spot. In the third-minute of injury time, Stekelenburg brought down Martin Jakubko and Vittek converted the penalty. — Reuters
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Tevez double, referee do Mexico in
Johannesburg, June 28 As in Germany’s 4-1 defeat of England earlier, the game suffered a first half refereeing controversy when Carlos Tevez headed in Argentina’s 26th minute opener. Television replays suggested he was well offside. The Mexican players raised their arms in protest, coach Javier Aguirre appearing to point to the giant screen as his players berated Italian referee Roberto Rosetti who then went to his assistant linesman for confirmation. Gonzalo Higuain was also on target for Diego Maradona’s side, calmly rounding Mexico keeper Oscar Perez after a dreadful defensive error by Ricardo Osorio on 33 minutes. Higuain’s fourth goal of the tournament put him top of the goalscoring list. It was all too much for Mexico whose substitutes had a heated exchange with their counterparts behind Aguirre’s dugout at halftime.
Javier Hernandez pulled one back for Mexico on 71 minutes after a neat turn and powerful strike inside the area but it was to no avail. “This was an important step, we’re in the quarter finals and that’s what matters, that we played well ... We need to rest and enjoy this victory, which wasn’t easy against Mexico,” Tevez said after the game.
Aguirre said talented young players should, however, ensure a bright future for the team. “We have a great generation of young players who must be put to the best possible use, I believe in four years they will be at the top,” he said. Argentina’s win set up a quarter-final clash with Germany in Cape Town on Saturday. — Reuters
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Debate rages over referees bloopers
Johannesburg, June 28 The replay of Carlos Tevez’s opening goal from a clear offside position sparked a melee during the game and at half-time rival substitutes squared up to one another behind the Mexican bench. “This shouldn’t happen,” FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot told a news conference. “Replays can be shown but not when there are controversial situations. We will work on this and be tighter in future.” “It has worked so far very well. Last night was a mistake. It should not happen again,” he added, declining to answer numerous questions on the contentious decisions made by referees and FIFA’s rejection of goal line technology. In another questionable decision that angered English fans on Sunday, England were denied an equaliser in their match against Germany when a shot from Frank Lampard hit the crossbar and clearly bounced behind the goal
line. FIFA is under increasing pressure to allow goal line technology or an extra referee behind the goal line to assist in such situations. Spanish striker Fernando Torres said steps were needed to stop mistakes by officials altering the course of matches. “We’re tired of asking for technological help for these kinds of situations because they can determine something as important as whether you get knocked out of a World Cup,” he told a Spanish radio
station. FIFA president Sepp Blatter has rejected goal line technology, saying he wants soccer to be played under the same rules at all levels and retain its human element.
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Part 1 of
2
The 1990s were when history in South Africa woke up from its slumber to change profiles, governments, colours and the very fabric of a nation facing almost absolute boycott due to apartheid. So now, after almost two decades, when the rainbow nation hosts the FIFA World Cup 2010, it seems that the proverbial ‘circle of life’ is at play. And there are very few men in South Africa, or even elsewhere, who can speak about the journey and the road ahead with more insight than Dr Ali Bacher, the man who was at the helm of United Cricket Board of South Africa when they came back onto the international scene in 1992. From 1992 to 2010, the journey for sports in South Africa has been a fascinating one. How do you feel today? Actually it was something that had started in 1986. With the development programme we were taking cricket into the disadvantaged areas of the country. We were taking it to the people at the height of apartheid, and then when Nelson Mandela took over, we were the first sports body to be united. And the best part of the thing was that all this happened just six to eight months after the rebel tours. What was Nelson Mandela’s and the ANC’s role in the entire scenario? The ANC was instrumental in pushing the black cricket board to join us, and it couldn’t have been possible without Mandela’s influence. His will and desire to uplift the nation, including sports, was something only he could have managed to accomplish. So today, when you see something as big as the soccer World Cup in your backyard, it must give you a tremendous sense of accomplishment. Yes, but not as a sports administrator, rather as a South African. When you see packed stadiums, it gives all of us such a sense of unity. As we know that the soccer team is completely dominated by people from a particular race, and same has been the case with rugby, so to see uninhibited support and fan mania for the Bafana Bafana, is indeed very heartening. What, according to you, are the reasons that the first World Cup in the African continent has been such a stupendous success that it might have surprised even some of the organisers? Firstly, it is the sport itself. Soccer has a massive following and it is also followed in a big way by the majority community in South Africa. Then, I guess, just as had happened during the rugby World Cup in 1995, the nation came out to support the Springboks, who were dominated by the whites, but that changed a lot during those days. But the biggest reason why the soccer World Cup has been held in such a fashion is that the politicians showed the will to prove a point. To show it to all, and to a certain extent even to ourselves, that we can do it, as good as others, and in some areas even better them. And what is your take on the Lalit Modi controversy? It is sad to know that Modi has gotten into so much trouble. But you see, he was given too much power, and when that happens, it generally results in people messing things up, or rubbing someone the wrong way. My company dealt with him during the first IPL. He was credited for giving T20 to the world and much more. We know the truth, he has nothing to do with T20 or even the league format that they are using. My impression of the man is that he is an opportunist, but someone who will always keep his word.
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Serena downs Sharapova
London, June 28 The two went toe-to-toe under the blazing sunshine on Centre Court, and Sharapova, the 16th seed, will rue the chances she missed leading 6-4 in the opening set tiebreak. A quick break of serve at the start of the second gave the American top seed the momentum, and the three-times champion wrapped up the victory when Sharapova sprayed a running backhand wide after an hour and 36 minutes. Six-times champion Roger Federer showed a ruthless streak against one of his best friends on tour when he destroyed Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 for a place in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon today. Federer, who had never faced Melzer at senior level before, produced his full array of wonderful touches and rock-solid serving on Centre Court in sharp contrast to his stuttering performances in the opening two rounds.
Melzer recovered from 3-0 down in the opener by breaking the Swiss serve, but it was to be his only success as Federer swept through in an hour and 24 minutes. However, it wasn’t as smooth a ride for five-times champion Venus Williams, as she had to fight long and hard in blazing sunshine before taking her place in the Wimbledon quarterfinals with a 6-4, 7-6 win over Australia’s Jarmila Groth. Her father Richard, full of admiration for his daughter’s grit and determination, said, “She had to play like a hell-cat to pull that one off.” Richard clearly felt a higher power was needed to steer Venus through. Sporting a “Jehovah My God” baseball cap, he kept shouting “Turn it up V” as the ding-dong battle got more and more intense in an intriguing second set. Her Slovak-born opponent, ranked 92 in the world, refused to be overawed by the woman who had won more grass court titles than any other player on the circuit. Groth served for the set at 5-4 and 6-5 but on each occasion Venus thwarted her, and she did well to recover from 4-0 down in the tiebreak before going down 7-5 when the Australian netted a mid-court forehand after an hour and 37 minutes. But the first big name to tumble out of the championships was former world number one and fourth seed Jelena as she pulled out of her clash with Russian 21st seed Vera Zvonareva. Jankovic, who has now fallen at the fourth round here four times in five years, was 6-1, 3-0 down when she withdrew. In another match, Kim Clijsters won the battle of the Belgians when she beat Justine Henin 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 for a place in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Clijsters, who last played here in 2006 when she lost to Henin in the semi-finals, edged a close battle against her compatriot, who suffered a fall in the opening set and appeared to damage her right wrist. Henin, whose usual fearsome baseline game let her down, had no answer as the eighth seed wrapped up the win when her opponent netted a forehand return. — Reuters
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Potchefstroom, June 28 After returning from knee surgery shortly before the tournament, Torres looks well short of his devastating best. While Villa netted three times, including two of the finest goals so far in South Africa, Torres squandered several chances and looked a shadow of the player who scored a brilliant winning goal in the Euro 2008 final against Germany. “It’s not easy coming back after an operation,” the 26-year-old said in an interview with Spanish radio on Saturday. Vicente del Bosque is likely to keep faith with Torres alongside Villa in a two-pronged attack as the Spanish seek to become the first team to score against the resilient Portuguese at this World Cup. The Spain coach has been at pains to point out that there is more to Torres than goals. “The main thing is that he played in the three (group) matches, he has been making progress in his preparation and he is better,” Del Bosque told reporters on Saturday. “He may not have scored but he helps us by being a menace for the opposition’s defence,” he added. “And when he gets into space he is always a very dangerous player. Del Bosque and Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz both have injury concerns, with Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso doubtful after spraining an ankle against Chile and Portugal winger Danny struggling with a left thigh injury. Midfielder Deco has recovered from the hip problem that ruled him out of Portugal’s final two Group G games and Spain central defender Raul Albiol, who has been an unused substitute thus far, is sidelined after being injured in training. — Reuters
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MS Gill felicitates Chandigarh
football team
Chandigarh, June 28 Chandigarh clinched their maiden Junior National Football Championship title by beating Bengal 5-3 in a nail-biting final that stretched into penalty shootout at the Mohun Bagan ground in Kolkata yesterday. Gill said it was heartening to note that after Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur in Punjab, Chandigarh was emerging as a soccer hub and producing quality soccer players. It proved that the Chandigarh Football Academy was producing results. He observed that the boys from the City Beautiful had done tremendously well in the age-group tournaments. Gill lamented that India was languishing at lowly 133rd place in the world ranking, adding that efforts should be made to improve country’s ranking. |
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Winger Robben, making his first start in South Africa, rifled home a solo effort after 18 minutes to give the Dutch the lead, before Sneijder wrapped it up six minutes from the end. Robert Vittek scored a consolation for Slovakia from the penalty spot with the last kick of the game. 
There was no dispute, however, about Tevez’s second, a stunning drive from 25-metres seven minutes into the second half.
Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said his team had lost its way following the controversial decision on Tevez’s first goal. “We got disorientated by the first goal, we lacked the mental strength and concentration to overcome the error that wasn’t our own, and then we committed the second one,” he told reporters after the game.
