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final countdown
‘Unworthy’ Argentinian squad decline presidential invite |
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Captaincy controversy breaks German harmony
Soccer City pitch to be in top shape for final
Loew jumper getting Germany high!
Octopus Paul backs Spain to win
Murali to quit Tests after Galle match
Mithun to replace injured Zaheer
Lanka tour: Biswal appointed manager
Modi demands reconstitution of BCCI disciplinary panel
Manchester United bar in Gurgaon!
Mir Iqbal Hussain football trophy launched
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Johannesburg, July 6 "It's difficult to compare them but both have shown great finishing qualities," Germany coach Joachim Loew said. Villa's strike partner Fernando Torres has been out of touch and may be left out of Spain's team, while Thomas Mueller is suspended for Germany, meaning the scoring onus will fall even heavily upon Villa and Klose. Villa missed the 2008 European Championship final against Germany due to injury but still led that tournament with four goals. The 28-year-old forward is one goal away from matching Raul Gonzalez's Spain record of 44 and is looking to cement his place as his country's greatest striker. "He's left-footed, right-footed, technically gifted. He's almost as complete a player as Lionel Messi," Klose said, comparing Villa to the Argentina standout. "He's a player that you have to combat against with a whole team, not just one defender." Whereas Villa has scored all but one of Spain's six goals at this tournament, Klose's four strikes represent less than a third of Germany's impressive 13-goal output. Germany beat Australia 4-0 in its opening match, and had routed England 4-1 and Argentina 4-0 in its past two matches. "It's probably the most complete team in the World Cup. A team that has changed since the 2008 final, with young and fresh faces," backup Spain goalkeeper Pepe Reina said. "It's the most dangerous rival at the moment."
— AP |
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‘Unworthy’ Argentinian squad decline presidential invite
The President - who succeeded her husband Nestor as head of state in December 2007 - also said that she had tried to speak to Maradona following the 4-0 hammering by Germany in Saturday's quarter-final but the former playing great had been too upset to talk. "You know that this president shows her true colours to the people in the difficult moments and not just the good ones," the 57-year-old told a rally in the northern suburb of San Miguel. "And I invited our squad to come to the Pink House (the presidential palace). The players refused because they felt they did not deserve such an accolade but I believe they are wrong because they all deserved it and I will wait for them. Yes, long live Argentina," she added. Kirchner, who was a senator for 12 years before being elected to the presidency, told all Argentinians to be strong in such a moment of sadness which saw the two-time winners fail to reach the last four for the fifth successive finals. "On Saturday when Germany beat Argentina, Argentinians were very sad," she said. "But have patience (gather your strength) Maradona, the squad and the country, even if the sadness will last. "I called him (Maradona) after his press conference on Saturday but he was not able to talk because he was crying." However, like most Argentinians, some of whom gave the squad a warm welcome at the airport, she offered her unqualified support to Maradona, who almost singlehandedly inspired the Argentinians to World Cup glory in 1986 where they beat West Germany and then to the final in 1990 where the Germans avenged their defeat. "I offer my support because nobody has ever given as much pleasure on the pitch than Diego Armando Maradona gave us," she said. Her speech went down well with her audience who answered with joyous cries of: "Ole, ole, ole, ole, Diegoooo, Diegooooooo!". Maradona, who has serious financial worries owing the Italian taxman nearly 40million euros in unpaid taxes and interest accrued, hinted on his return to Argentina that he was going to step down. "That's it, my cycle has finished," Maradona reportedly said as he arrived at his home. "I gave all I had."
— AFP |
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Captaincy controversy breaks German harmony
Erasmia, July 6 Lahm's comments in an interview with the newspaper Bild, were published on Tuesday and team manager Oliver Bierhoff had to answer a series of questions about the issue - and the departure of Ballack from the team camp. Bierhoff denied that the controversy, which broke out just over an hour before the German team were due to fly to Durban for their Wednesday semifinal with Spain, had upset the team. "There is no dissent whatsoever, not even a hint of conflict," he told a news conference at the team's hotel. Lahm is officially the World Cup captain while Ballack, who recently moved from Chelsea to German club Bayer Leverkusen, remains the team captain. Ballack, who has missed the tournament due to an ankle injury, flew out to be with the team ahead of the quarterfinal with Argentina but returned to Europe on Monday prompting speculation he may have been upset with Lahm's comments. "It is an unfortunate coincidence that Ballack's departure and Lahm's statement coincided," Bierhoff told a news conference, adding that the midfielder's return was because he needed to continue his treatment on his ankle. "He felt good and had excellent physiotherapy. Luckily his injury is healing surprisingly fast... he needs a lot of rehab now, he needs special facilities and a lot of time. "It emerged that Michael didn't want to take out any resources from the team. He knew that if his rehab was to proceed he needed more time from staff... he decided that it was better to continue treatment in Luxembourg," said Bierhoff. In the comments to Bild, Lahm said: "It's obvious that I'd like to keep the captain's armband. The job gives me a great deal of enjoyment. Why should I then give it up by choice? "If you do the job out there on the pitch and you have it under control, as in my case, you want more. You want more responsibility. You want to take care of it all. That is the case with me," he added.
— Reuters |
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Soccer City pitch to be in top shape for final
Johannesburg, July 6 "We have cancelled a number of training sessions during the tournament so that the pitch can be in the best possible condition," FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot said today. "We are not aware of any particular concern or worry about the state of the pitch for Sunday's final." World Cup pitches in high-altitude Johannesburg and Pretoria have had problems with frost during the tournament while the surfaces in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth have at times had to be closed because of rain. Despite the problems, the pitches at this year's World Cup are a vast improvement on the surfaces that teams had to deal with at the 2009 Confederations Cup, and so far there have been no complaints from any of the 32 participating teams.
— DPA |
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Loew jumper getting Germany high!
Low insists that though he is not one to believe in lucky charms, people are begging him to keep wearing the same top. "I'm not driven by superstition but the coaching staff want me to wear the blue sweater because we always score four goals when I do. It is becoming almost a running gag. People keep going on about it," he said. "I'm not even allowed to wash it now even though I've worn it several times. I think I will wear it again against Spain," The Sun quoted Low, as saying. The German coach has been wearing exactly the same outfit as his assistant Hansi Flick throughout the tournament. They started out with a cardigan and matching shirt for the opening win over Australia and the 1-0 defeat to Serbia, after which they switched to the blue jersey under a suit. — ANI
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Octopus Paul backs Spain to win
Carried live on national television, two plastic boxes, one with a German flag and one with a Spanish, were lowered into Paul's tank at an aquarium in western Germany, each with a tasty morsel of food inside. The box which Paul opens first is adjudged to be his predicted winner.
— AFP |
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Murali to quit Tests after Galle match
The first Test against India in Galle, beginning July 18, will be the last game for the 38-year-old Muralitharan, who has taken an amazing tally of 792 wickets in 132 Tests and 515 wickets in 337 ODIs. Although Murali will no longer play after the first match of the three-Test series, he has kept open the option of playing the 2011 ODI World Cup, to be co-hosted by Sri Lanka along with India and Bangladesh. "The world’s leading wicket-taker and champion spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has decided to retire from Test cricket after the first Test in Galle against India," a statement by Sri Lanka Cricket said. "Muralitharan has had discussions with the national selectors and Sri Lankan Cricket officials and has had the blessings of his excellency Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse and the Minister of Sports CB Ratnayake," the statement added. Cricket website Cricinfo, however, said that the wily off-spinner was contemplating retirement from all forms of the game. The off-spinner, who was called for throwing by a few umpires during his illustrious career, has been one of the most talked about players in contemporary cricket. Muralitharan is one of the most successful bowlers in the history of the game but controversies were an integral part of his successful career. The cricketer, who made his debut in 1992 against Australia, had the world cricket debating about his unorthodox and weird bowling action. Right from the onset of his career, his action came under the scanner and three years after making his debut he was called for throwing during the 1995-96 Australia tour by umpire Darrel Hair. The International Cricket Council (ICC) recommended a biomechanical analysis at the University of Western Australia and concluded that his action created the 'optical illusion of throwing'. The matter did not end there and again he was charged with suspected action in the 1998-99 Australia tour and this time Ross Emerson had doubts about his action. He was sent for further tests in Perth and England and was cleared again. He faced the same charges in 2004 but the Sri Lankan kept on taking wickets and in the same year he overtook West Indies' Courtney Walsh’s 519-wicket mark to become the highest wicket-taker in Test history. His was an enthralling battle for supremacy with Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne as both kept re-writing the highest wicket record. Warne retired with 708 scalps and Murali overtook him in December 2007 against England at his home ground in Kandy. He achieved the grand double of being the highest wicket-taker in ODIs as well when he went past Wasim Akram's record of 502 wickets in 2009. He could not do much in 2007 World Cup and it remains to be seen if he decides to play in the 2011 edition and help his side win their second World title. He has said that it is difficult to bowl long spell for him and is expected to play T20 cricket. He plays for reigning IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, who are due to play in the Champions T20 league in September in South Africa.
— PTI |
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Mithun to replace injured Zaheer New Delhi, July 6 “Zaheer Khan has been ruled out of the forthcoming Sri Lanka series because of a shoulder injury. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has chosen Abhimanyu Mithun to replace him,” Board Secretary N Srinivasan said in a BCCI release. The Cricket Board did not divulge any details of the injury. It also did not mention for how long he has been advised to rest. It was also not clear whether he will miss the ODI tri-series starting on August 10 at Dambulla, also featuring New Zealand, though its squad will be announced later. Zaheer was rested for the recent tour of Zimbabwe in order to keep him fresh for the busy season ahead. He played in all of India’s matches in the recent Asia Cup at Dambulla. Uncapped so far in Test, Mithun was included in the Indian squad for the two-Test series against South Africa early this year but did not play any match. He has played an ODI against South Africa in Ahmedabad, in February this year. The lanky pacer was withdrawn from the India A squad in England to replace injured seamer Vinay Kumar in Zimbabwe, but didn’t get a game. He rejoined his team-mates in England for the one-dayers and in his most recent outing on Friday, took 3 for 49 against West Indies A. India begin their tour of Sri Lanka with a three-day game against a Sri Lankan side in Colombo from June 13-15 before the first Test starts at Galle from July 18. The second Test starts in Colombo from July 26 while the third and final Test will also be played in Colombo from August 3-7. — PTI
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Lanka tour: Biswal appointed manager
Ranchi, July 6 India will play a three-Test series against Sri Lanka with the first Test from July 18 to 22 at Galle. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men will arrive in Colombo on July 10 and play a three-day game against the Sri Lankan Board President XI before heading to Galle on July 15. The tri-series, involving India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, will be played from August 10-28 at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. This will be the third time that Biswal will be the Manager of the senior national team in his administrative career. He had been manager of Team India in the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies and recently concluded Asia Cup, which India won after a gap of 15 years.
— PTI |
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Modi demands reconstitution of BCCI disciplinary panel
In his legal notice to the Cricket Board, Modi has asked for removal of one of the panelists — IPL’s interim chairman Chirayu Amin — contending that he cannot be a member as he was one of the investors in the consortium which failed in its bid for buying one of the two new IPL franchises — Pune and Kochi. Modi has made BCCI president Shashank Manohar, secretary N Srinivasan and the three members of the Disciplinary panel as respondents in his notice. The other members of the Disciplinary panel are Arun Jaitley and Jyotiraditya Scindia, who was chosen unanimously as a replacement for Manohar, after he recused himself from the panel. Terming the presence of Amin in the panel “unfortunate”, the notice issued on behalf of Modi by his legal counsel said that the suspended IPL chief had disclosed publicly that the T20 League’s interim chief was “an investor who formed a part of the Pune consortium that made an unsuccessful bid for the two franchises this year.” Saying none among Amin, Manohar and Srinivasan disclosed the fact that the Amin was an investor in the Pune consortium even when he was appointed as IPL’s interim Chairman on April 26, the notice has claimed it was Modi who made the revelation on June 4 through the media. Charging that BCCI president Manohar had not only suppressed this information but also initially denied it, the notice claimed it was only subsequently after realising the denial “would hold no water” did Manohar admit that Amin was part of the consortium that submitted the Pune bid. To protect Amin, Manohar had said that the former had submitted a letter to him with a copy to Srinivasan “disclosing his interest and stating that approval of the BCCI would be obtained, should the bid be successful and should he invest in the company to be formed by the consortium members (of which he formed part),” the notice claimed. “This explanation was false. This explanation was also not only fanciful but also an afterthought. It is interesting to note that such letter has never seen the light of day till date. This is simply because none existed. Should it now belatedly come forth, our client will have good reason to believe that it has been falsified to support the false case put forth," Modi said in the notice.
— PTI |
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Come for nationals or risk axe from CWG, boxers told
New Delhi, July 6 Top stars like World Championships bronze medallist Vijender Singh and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Akhil Kumar have not competed in the Nationals for quite some time and even this year at least the former's participation is not certain. Vijender today hurt his hand while sparring at the camp in Patiala and his participation seems doubtful. “I hurt my hand during a training session. I will have to get an X-ray and an MRI done on it and if it turns out to be serious, I won't participate," the world number one middle weight pugilist told PTI. “I can't take a risk with my fitness,” he added. Akhil, having recovered from a knee injury, has not yet decided on the weight category for competing. “I will participate because it's mandatory but I have not decided on my weight category for it. I was on rest last month due to a knee problem and it’s fine now but I don't want to take another risk with my fitness,” he said.
— PTI |
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Manchester United bar in Gurgaon!
A delectable FIFA food menu has also been rolled out to keep up with the flavor of the season that offers fascinating world cuisine. What's more is that Manchester United Café Bar will satisfy your gastronomic taste buds with multi-cuisine on the platter. To ignite the soccer fever Manchester United Café Bar will offer free entry till July 7. The bar is located on the fourth floor, Central Mall, MG Road, Near Iffco Chowk Metro Station in
Gurgaon. |
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Mir Iqbal Hussain football trophy launched
Chandigarh, July 6 The under-16 tournament is being organised across 75 cities to tap into over 40,000 young footballers from 1,500 schools. To kick off the tournament, the first match was played between Coast Guard and Shrinathji School at DMC Football Ground, Moti, Daman, Daman and Diu. |
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Buenos Aires, July 6
"It's not the case. Ballack visited the team in Sicily before the tournament and it was always agreed that he would visit for the quarterfinal.
Colombo, July 6
Mumbai, July 6
Chandigarh, July 6