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Belgium living the American dream
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Mueller admits botched free kick was a trick
Andy’s reign ended by Dimitrov
Asian Games bid: OCA refuses to extend deadline
6-Red snooker title is my answer to critics: Advani
‘Greed, anger, frustration led me to fix matches’
This is
World Cup, no easy games here: Messi Lionel Messi has been Argentina’s talisman with the four Man of the Match performances in as many games. The apparent over-reliance on him could cost Argentina dear in the coming games. REUTERS
I didn’t predict World Cup results: Bookie
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Belgium living the American dream
SALVADOR , July 2
“This generation is writing its own page in the history of Belgian football and has already shown its potential. I have placed the bar high for my guys but now I’m going to make it even higher. I’d prefer we raise our objectives rather than seek to be comfortable,” he told reporters. “What we are going to do is ensure that we play at a high level. We have to literally burn ourselves out.” Belgium squeezed through a thrilling two-hour contest with the U.S in their last 16 tie in Salvador on Wednesday, creating 27 chances in an overwhelming display and yet clung on precariously to a 2-1 lead at the end of extra time as both teams left little behind on the pitch. “There is not much time for recovery and we’ve got to plan now for Argentina,” Wilmots said. The meeting with a side dominated by Lionel Messi drew obvious questions about the parallels with Belgium’s last significant World Cup performance, when they reached the 1986 semi-finals only to be mesmerized by Diego Maradona as Argentina beat them 2-0 in Mexico City. Not working on Messi
“We are not working on Messi, we’ll be challenging Argentina as a block. Switzerland showed how to play against them, they had a very good game,” said Wilmots. “I saw an Argentina side playing with three center backs, two fullbacks pressing up high and Di Maria given a free reign. But I also saw a lack of balance at times.” Belgium put on a much better showing in the knockout round after cruising through the group phase but their finishing was an area for concern as they failed to turn a dominant showing on Tuesday into a runaway triumph. “But we made a lot of chances. I want to see what we can do but I have ideas in my head already, don’t worry.” — Reuters |
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Couldn’t have asked for more from my players: Klinsmann
“Obviously it's a bummer for us to end on the losing side (but) it was a game which gave everything to the fans, to the crowd,” U.S. coach Juergen Klinsmann told reporters. “It was real drama, a thriller, we had enough possibilities to equalize the game or even put it away earlier. It was a game that just went to the extreme.” Klinsmann said he could not have asked for any more from his unheralded players, who defied the odds just to make the round of 16 then held on bravely against a skilful, well-organized Belgian team. The Europeans attacked the United States from the outset, firing a barrage of shots, but were unable to find the net until extra time when Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku scored. “Every player was at his limits on the field. We knew sooner or later they would hit the wall,” Klinsmann said. “All the players today went beyond their capabilities. I told them in locker room they can take a lot of positives back home after this World Cup. “We worked tremendously over the last few years and found ways to introduce new young players into our programme and develop our game. We must now swallow it and develop very quickly a young group,” he said. — Reuters
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short passes Germany's Thomas Mueller admitted that his bizarre stumble while running towards the ball for a free kick late in the World Cup last 16 match against Algeria was a ploy. “Is this interview going to be broadcast worldwide or only in Germany?” Mueller asked a German television reporter who wanted to know if the Bayern Munich player had deliberately tripped. When told that the interview would only be broadcast in Germany, Mueller smiled and said: “It almost worked.” Asked if he planned to try the trick again, Mueller said: “We'll see what happens in the next match.” With the scores level at 0-0, Germany were awarded a free kick in the 88th minute in a promising position about 25 meters directly in front of Algeria's goal. Mueller huddled with team mates Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil and Bastian Schweinsteiger who ran towards the ball but stepped over it. Mueller was next to fake a kick but fell to his knees two steps before the ball. He quickly got up and ran towards the wall as Kroos attempted to lob the ball to him but the pass was blocked by the defenders. “We'd practiced that,” Kroos told German media. “In training it always worked. But it looks like crap when it doesn't work.” Brazil 2014 best on field World Cup: Valcke
Brazil 2014 may have had organizational glitches, but it is shaping up to be the best on-field World Cup thanks to the exciting soccer being played, FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke said on Tuesday. “I think it is the best World Cup in terms of the soccer,” Valcke said in an interview with Globo television's SporTV cable channel. “It's the World Cup with the most number of goals since 1982.” Even before the 32-nation tournament enters the quarter-final phase this week, more goals have been scored than at the previous World Cup in South Africa in 2010. Valcke, who complained in 2012 that Brazil needed a “kick up the backside” to speed up preparations of the stadiums, said the World Cup in Brazil has exceeded FIFA's expectations. “We had some small problems off the soccer fields, nothing major. We saw some things that were unfinished, but in the final analysis expectations were surpassed,” he said. One further pleasing aspect, Valcke said, was the record audiences the games have generated in the United States. — Agencies |
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Andy’s reign ended by Dimitrov
London, July 2 With the dust still settling on 19-year-old Nick Kyrgios’s third-round demolition of world No.1 Rafael Nadal, Dimitrov caused the second seismic shock on Centre Court in the space of 24 hours by outclassing Murray 6-1 7-6(4) 6-2. The Briton’s shattering defeat means that two of the so-called Big Four in men’s tennis have departed in quick succession from the grasscourt grand slam, both walloped by members of a brash new generation of big hitters with no fear and scant regard for reputations. “Everyone’s starting to get better,” Murray said. “The younger guys are now obviously becoming more mature and improving all the time.” It’s one thing surrendering your crown, but to suffer such a remorseless beating on your own turf in front of Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, was especially galling. ORDER RESTORED
Roger Federer finally blotted his copybook, dropping a set for the first time this year before reaching the semis with a 3-6 7-6(5) 6-4 6-4 win over fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka. It is the ninth Wimbledon semifinal for the seven-times champion, who has been in imperious form on the grass this year, winning at Halle before steaming through five rounds at the All England Club. The 32-year-old will face Canadian Milos Raonic, who stole the thunder of Nadal’s slayer Kyrgios with a 6-7(4) 6-2 6-4 7-6(4) win over the teenager. With cracks beginning to show in the top echelons of the men’s game, Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard and Romania’s Simona Halep heightened the sense of a changing of the guard in women’s tennis as both reached the semifinals. Bouchard, 20, beat Germany’s Angelique Kerber 6-3 6-4 while Romanian third seed Halep, 22, continued her fantastic year to overcome last year’s runner-up Sabine Lisicki 6-4 6-0. They will face-off on Thursday, when both will become the first women from their respective countries to play in a Wimbledon semifinal. Of the last four standing in the women’s draw, only 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic, who beat compatriot Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-1 7-5 in the quarters, has tasted grand slam glory. She will face another Czech Lucie Safarova in the last four. — Reuters |
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Asian Games bid: OCA refuses to extend deadline
New Delhi, July 2 The OCA, in a communication to the IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta, has expressed its inability to extend the July 1 deadline by a fortnight to July 15 and has instead asked the IOA to submit a letter of guarantee from the Government within two days. The latest missive by the continental body has effectively put India out of the race for hosting the quadrennial event in 2019. “The OCA informed us that they can’t extend the deadline to 15 days. They have only given us two days to mount a possible bid. It’s impossible for the IOA to get the letter of guarantee from the government and submit a bid in a couple of days. It’s unlikely that we would be able to host the Games. OCA’s refusal has effectively ended our hopes. IOA tried its best to get the approval from the Sports Ministry but we can’t do much in two days,” Mehta told The Tribune. “We had decided to approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week to intervene in the matter but OCA’s letter has made it extremely difficult to even ask Modiji to expedite the whole process. We understand that the PM is busy with the Union Budget and the IOA wouldn’t get an appointment in two days. You need to get clearances from three ministries before presenting the bid to the cabinet, which will take the final decision. How could you do it all in just two days?” In its letter to the IOA, OCA president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah has written that a team from the OCA has to visit bidding nations in coming weeks to inspect the infrastructure for holding the Games in 2019 and need to submit its report before the September 19 meeting in Incheon on the sidelines of Asian Games. “Keeping the pressing situation in mind, we can only give you two day extension to submit a letter of guarantee from your side,” said the communication.
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6-Red snooker title is my answer to critics: Advani
It took almost two years for Advani, India’s poster boy of cue sports, to win his ninth world title and when it came, he created history in several ways. The Bangalorean, who has seven world titles in billiards and two in snooker, is now the only cueist in the world to win titles in the longer and shorter formats of both billiards and snooker. The Tribune caught up with Advani when he arrived in the capital for a felicitation function organised by the Delhi Billiards and Snooker Association. Excerpts from an interview: For a long time, we had not heard about Pankaj Advani winning any major international title. How special is this win for you? It’s a wonderful feeling. It gives me a high when the national anthem is being played out. Winning a world title after two years is definitely a long time. I had set a very high standard for myself because people got used to me winning titles every year. After winning the 6-Red title, you had said that you weren’t expecting anything from this championship. Is it because you were concentrating on billiards and were short of practice in snooker? You can’t really predict who’s going to win the title in the 6-Red format. It’s a very short game. You can’t afford to make too many mistakes because your opponent can finish it off in one visit. The format is more like a lottery. But I am happy that I won. The feeling is yet to sink in. I let my cue do the talking to silence my critics. Cue sports won’t be there at the Incheon Asian Games, and they’re not part of the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics either. How does this affect the popularity of the game? We are obsessed with the Asian Games and the Olympics. We also need to know that there are competitive World Championships and Asian Championships in other sports too. The competition level is same, like the Asian Games or the Olympics. It’s very disappointing that we are not there in the Asian Games but at the same time we have a lot to look forward to. If we keep winning medals and world titles, we will be right there (in terms of popularity). At 28, you have won the world billiards, world snooker, Asian Games gold and now the 6-red title. What is there left for you to conquer? I just want to get better. At the end of the day, I want to feel the satisfaction that I produced my best on the green table. It has hit me sometimes that I have achieved so much at an early age, but I try to stay grounded. What about the pro circuit? You are not part of the second season? I am on a break from the English circuit. I would love to play the world billiards this year. I am not thinking about the professional season.
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‘Greed, anger, frustration led me to fix matches’
WELLINGTON, July 2 The 35-year-old top-order batsman was banned from cricket for life on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to 18 breaches of the England and Wales Cricket board’s anti-corruption regulations in three matches in England. “I think I felt greedy for the first time in my life,” Vincent said. “I probably had a chip on my shoulder over my career, I left New Zealand pretty heart broken and a bit angry at the system. As the match fixing world opened up to me... I thought ‘yeah, I’m going to make big money now, so stuff the world’.” Vincent was first approached while playing in a rebel T20 competition in India in 2008, where he was invited to attend a meeting with a local businessman to discuss promotional endorsements of cricket gear. At the meeting, however, he was offered the services of a prostitute and a large stack of US dollars. He said he realised what was being offered, turned both down and then met a friend he was playing with — who Vincent referred to as his hero — about the approach. “I remember him saying ‘that’s a good cover because now you’re working for me’,” Vincent said. “There was no way I could say no, the person I was working for was a huge role model to me.” He was then told how spot fixing worked and what to do for each match. “In my case because I was at the top of the order it was bat 20 balls and score 10-15 runs then get out. Simple as that.” Vincent, however, made an error in one match when he accidentally hit a six while attempting to get out as planned. “I got the phone call to come meet the person I was working for. He sat me down on the bed, walked away and got a cricket bat... he was walking towards me with a killer look and I thought ‘this is pretty serious’. I was really surprised that he didn’t follow through and hit me.” — Reuters
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This is World Cup, no easy games here: Messi SALVADOR , July 2 “I don’t know whether I deserved this one or not but what is important is that we move on to the next stage which is what we wanted,” Messi said after the team's 1-0 extra-time win. “It was not an easy match and it’s been that way throughout the World Cup. What is important is that we won.” Messi was effectively shackled by a superb Swiss defense and had few chances to show the kind of form that won him four world player of the year awards in a row between 2009 and 2012. But when he did get a chance to run, his contribution was decisive. With two minutes remaining in extra time he laid the ball off for winger Angel Di Maria to stroke the winner past Diego Benaglio. “During that special play, a little bit of everything went through my head,” said a smiling Messi. “I thought maybe I should take a chance, then I saw Angel over there and I decided to pass the chance to him and fortunately we are able to celebrate.” Messi won man-of-the-match awards in Argentina’s three group games against Bosnia, Iran and Nigeria and scored four of Argentina’s six goals. But he admitted the Swiss gave him and his team mates a scare at the Corinthians arena. “I was nervous at times just like anyone else because we couldn’t score a goal and any mistake could have put us out, minutes were going by and we didn’t want penalties,” he said. When asked how he felt with the clock running down, he replied: “Suffering, suffering, that’s what we felt. We know will go through times like this. That’s football. We had luck on our side and we have to take advantage of it and to move on. “We know that all matches will be on equal footing. You win the match because of minor details. It’s a World Cup and when you are here you don’t have an easy opponent.” — Reuters ‘ Messi can change a game in a second’Switzerland's German coach Ottmar Hitzfeld says Argentina captain Lionel Messi can “change a game in a second”. “It was a tough game but we made life difficult for them. They managed to stay calm. Argentina has a good team. The team delivered a good performance, tactically mature and calm in critical situations,” said Hitzfeld, also praising his goalkeeper Diego Benaglio, who made many crucial saves. The German tactician added that Argentina is not only about Messi. They have other good players like Ezequiel Lavezzi, Javier Mascherano and di Maria.
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I didn’t predict World Cup results: Bookie
Brasilia, July 2 Cameroon’s football federation said it was investigating the report in der Spiegel magazine that Wilson Raj Perumal accurately predicted in an online chat with one of its journalists that Cameroon would lose 4-0 to Croatia and would have a player sent off in the first half. Der Spiegel’s claims rang alarm bells because Perumal is the best-known match-fixer in football. He was convicted of fixing matches in Finland and suspected of fixing other games in Africa and involving African teams. He also isn’t averse to self-publicity, having recently published memoirs with two journalists as co-authors. Perumal denied having predicted the outcome. “The Facebook chat with the Der Spiegel journalist took place a few days after the match - June 21st, as confirmed by my Facebook log,” his statement said. “At no time did I make reference to four goals being scored or to a red card being issued. At no time did I suggest that I had any way of corroborating or substantiating what was meant to be an educated guess based on my extensive match-fixing experience. Last but not least: at no time was I informed by the journalist that our chat was going to end up in the German publication.” — PTI Perumal denial
I am shocked and amazed that a respected magazine such as Der Spiegel would go so far as to fabricate statements by yours truly with the visible aim of stirring the row over match-fixing ~ Wilson Perumal |
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SALVADOR
, July 2
“Now that we are in the quarter-final we have got to try and go all the way,” said the coach as his side looked ahead to their meeting in the last eight with Argentina in Brasilia on Saturday.
SALVADOR, July 2
Top seed Novak Djokovic, the man Murray beat a year ago, nearly went the same way before restoring order by digging himself out of a hole to beat dangerous Croatian Marin Cilic 6-1 3-6 6-7(4) 6-2 6-2 and set up a clash with Dimitrov.
New Delhi, July 2
