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Monday, December 27, 2010
United, City win in good day for Manchester clubs
Rangers, Celtic both win in Scotland
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP): Kenny Miller scored twice as Rangers thrashed Motherwell 4-1 Sunday to maintain its two-point lead over fierce Glasgow rival Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premier League.
The Scotland striker reached a league-high 21 goals for the campaign by scoring Rangers' first and last at Fir Park, with Steven Saunders' own goal and a stunning individual effort by Vladimir Weiss coming in between for the leaders.
Celtic needed goals in second-half injury time by South Korea internationals Cha Du-ri and Ki Sung-yeung to nick a 2-0 victory over St. Johnstone.
Aberdeen provisionally climbed off the bottom of the table with a 2-1 win at Hibernian but has played two games more than last-place Hamilton.
Safee, Ashaari on target as Malaysia score thumping win over Indonesia
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians roared as ferocious Tigers at the National Stadium in Bukit Jali last night.
And they turned the tables on favourites Indonesia for a thumping 3-0 victory in the first-leg final of the Suzuki Cup Asean Football Federation (AFF) championships in front of a sell-out 100,000 fans. It was sweet revenge over Indonesia, who thrashed them 5-1 in the opening Group A match on Dec 1.
Mohd Safee Sali scored a brace in the 60th and 73rd minutes while substitute Mohd Ashaari Shamsuddin (pic) netted the other goal in the 67th minute to give Malaysia a comfortable cushion for the return match at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Indonesia need four goals to pip Malaysia to the title. And coach K. Rajagopal’s boys cannot afford to let their guard down as they did when they lost the opening group match.
Last night, Norsharul Idlan Talaha paved the way for the Malaysian victory, setting up the first two goals.
In a flash of brilliance, Norsharul used his trademark burst and dash tactics to open up the Indonesia defence for Safee to strike in the 60th minute. After that, Malaysia were on fire.
The only two significant incidents in the goalless first half were costly yellow cards picked up by Indonesia’s nippy midfielder Okto Maniani and Malaysia’s right-flanker Mohd Amirulhadi Zainal in the fifth and 44th minutes respectively.
In fact, Indonesia were the more dangerous in their counter raids. The best chance to score came after hotshot Christian Gonzales robbed the ball from Amar Rohidan in the centre of the pitch and put Yongky Ari Bowo through for a shot at goal in the 22nd minute.
The best chance for Malaysia fell for S. Kunalan after he weaved past two defenders in the 18th minute but his shot at goal lacked power and gave goalkeeper Markus Harison an easy catch.
The game was stopped after 53 minutes of play as the Indonesians protested against fans distracting them by using laser light beams to shoot into their eyes.
There were a warning on the giant screen telling the fans that the match would be abandoned if there were more of such incidents during the game.
Play resumed after six minutes and Malaysia hit paydirt at the hour mark when Norsharul stole the ball from the right, beat defender Mohammad Nasuha before relaying the ball to Safee for the easiest of task to tap into goal.
Seven minutes later, Mohd Ashaari showed that he too had a lethal right-foot when he picked up Norsharul’s cross to score from inside the box.
Defender Mahali Jasuli did the final damage to Indonesia, who came to Bukit Jalil with the reputation of having won all five previous matches, when he found Safee with a long cross into the box and the Selangor striker made no mistake by nodding the ball into goal in the 73rd minute.
Celtic in talks with former Sweden star Ljungberg
GLASGOW, Celtic (AP): Celtic manager Neil Lennon says the club is trying to sign former Sweden captain Freddie Ljungberg.
Lennon says he will meet with Ljungberg, who spent nine years at Arsenal and more recently played in Major League Soccer with the Seattle Sounders and Chicago Fire, after initial contact was made with the midfielder "three or four weeks ago."
Lennon said after Celtic's 2-0 win over St. Johnstone in the Scottish Premier League on Sunday that "it is not a trial or anything like that. It's so that we can have a look at him and he can look at us."
Ljungberg left Chicago at the end of the 2010 MLS season, having spent the previous year with Seattle. He was with Arsenal between 1998-07 before a move to West Ham.
Newly-married Norsharul the hero in Malaysia’s victory
KUALA LUMPUR: Striker Norsharul Idlan Talaha tied the knot in a private ceremony on Saturday.
Last night, he turned hero for Malaysia in the thumping 3-0 win over Indonesia in the first-leg final of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) tournament.
Norsharul created the opening goal out of nothing. He stole the ball from Mohammad Nasuha from the right and burst into the box from the byline before finding Mohd Safee Sali with an open chance to score.
Norsharul, who was named best striker and the most valuable player (MVP) in the national football awards last month, did the damage again to pave the way for Mohd Ashaari Shamsuddin to score the second goal. Safee scored the third goal for Malaysia, nodding in a cross from Mahali Jasuli.
National coach K. Rajagopal had one word to describe the 24-year-old striker contribution – “special”.
“He did his job out there. Credit goes to all the players but he (Norsharul) is a special player. I would rate him as one of the best strikers in the tournament,” said Rajagopal at the post-match conference.
Rajagopal said that the boys did their jobs well after the breather.
The 26-year-old Safee was also in his element, scoring the goals to take his tally four goals. He is now the top scorer in the competition ahead of Indonesian Christian Gonzales, who has three goals.
“I personally have no target on the number of goals but it is nice to be on top,” said Safee, who said that he would consider a stint abroad and even take up an offer to play in the Indonesia League if it were good.
“As for now, I have a job to do with the national team.”
Rajagopal added that he was extremely pleased that his boys gave Indonesia a taste of their own medicine (Malaysia were routed 1-5 in the opening Group A match in Jakarta).
“What they did to us, we handed them the same tonight. They made us pay from individual errors and we did the same on their mistakes,” he said.
Indonesia coach Alfred Riedle was left a confused man after seeing his team suffer their first defeat in the tournament.
“I think they got nervous after the first goal. I am surprise over the result, too,” said the Austrian.
Indonesia won five straight matches. Besides beating Malaysia, they defeated Laos 6-0 and Thailand 2-1 in the group stage. They defeated the Philippines 1-0 in both the two matches in the semi-finals.
“The goals came fast. I am sure this would have brought everyone back home down to earth. I am the same,” said Riedl.
Serie A champs appoint Leonardo to replace sacked Benitez
ROME: Brazilian coach Leonardo was on Friday named as the new boss of European and Italian champions Inter Milan, taking over from the sacked Rafael Benitez.
“Leonardo has just signed a contract with Inter until June 30, 2012,” said a statement on the club’s official website.
“Everybody at Inter wishes to welcome Leonardo. He will take charge from Dec 29 when training resumes. The club will make an announcement over the next few days regarding his official presentation.
“We are sure that with his class, experience and winning mentality the club and the team can achieve the results that everyone at Inter and all the Inter fans want to see.”
The 41-year-old Leonardo, who played in Brazil’s 1994 World Cup winning squad and speaks five languages, spent a season in charge at AC Milan from 2009-2010 as successor to Chelsea-bound Carlo Ancelotti.
Inter sacked Benitez – who had only been in charge since the summer when he succeeded Jose Mourinho – on Thursday just days after the former Liverpool boss had guided them to the World Club Cup title.
Defending league champions Inter are currently seventh in Serie A, 13 points adrift of their bitter city rivals although they do have two games in hand.
Leonardo spent 12 years at AC Milan – four as a player, seven as part of the backroom staff and one as coach when he took the club to third place in the championship before leaving in the aftermath of a bitter fall-out with owner Silvio Berlusconi.
As well as attempting to boost Inter’s league position, Leonardo also has a last-16 Champions League date against Bayern Munich on Feb 23 and March 15 in a repeat of last season’s final.
Inter captain Javier Zanetti said the appointment of Leonardo was the right move.
“I know Leonardo well. He is a very intelligent person, someone who is always on the ball,” said Zanetti.
“He has a lot to give as a coach thanks to the experiences he gathered as a player and as a man.”
Media reports in Italy suggested that Leonardo, the fifth man to have coached both Milan clubs, will be paid around €2.5mil a year.
Benitez, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, had only been in the Inter post since July after leaving Anfield by mutual consent.
But he failed to convince the Inter fans that he could repeat the success of Mourinho who secured the domestic double and the Champions League trophy last season.
Benitez had looked to have ensured he would stay in the post with Saturday’s 3-0 World Club Cup final win over Tout Puissant Mazembe in Abu Dhabi and was warmly embraced by Inter president Massimo Moratti.
However, the 50-year-old used the post-match press conference to attack the Inter board over transfer policy, an outburst which eventually persuaded Moratti to seek a new man for the San Siro hotseat
Barcelona sign Dutch international Afellay
MADRID: Dutch international Ibrahim Afellay completed his transfer to Barcelona from PSV Eindhoven on Friday by signing a four and a half year contract with the reigning Spanish champions.
“When I was a kid, I wanted to play for Barca, it was a dream. “We all know that it is the best place to play football and when I heard about their interest I didn’t think twice,” he said.
The 24-year-old midfielder, who came through the ranks at PSV Eindhoven and whose family are from Morocco, has 29 caps for his country.
He was also a member of the team who reached the World Cup Finals.
Barcelona paid PSV €3mil for Afellay and his contract includes a buyout clause worth €100mil, the club said in a statement posted on their website.
The club’s sporting director, Andoni Zubizarreta, praised Afellay’s versatility and maturity and said he would be the only player bought during the January transfer window.
“We have absolutely no plans to sign anybody else,” he said during the player’s presentation.
“He was a player who was about to finish his contract and with the squad we have he looks like somebody who can add something.”
Maradona threatens to sue former boss Grondona
BUENOS AIRES: Diego Maradona threatened legal action against Argentine football association president Julio Grondona on Friday as their bitter post-World Cup war of words took another dramatic twist.
“I am not going to go on about Grondona.
“I am going directly to see my lawyers to start an action after all he has said.
“He has lost control,” Maradona told the Clarin newspaper.
Maradona and Grondona have been at loggerheads since the Argentine football legend was deposed as coach following the team’s 4-0 defeat to Germany at the World Cup quarter-finals in South Africa.
On Thursday, the 79-year-old Grondona hit back at the Argentine football legend Maradona for describing him as “senile”.
“I am not senile, I am not an informer and I never will be,” said the federation chief.
“One day he (Maradona) loves you, the next he hates you.
“There are reasons for this, we all know what they are,” added Grondona, alluding to Maradona’s history of long-time battle with drugs.
Maradona insisted on Friday that he is now free of drug and alcohol problems.
“I haven’t taken anything for six years, not even a glass of wine.”
Al-Nasr sack Zenga for poor results
RIYADH: Former Italian goalkeeper Walter Zenga was sacked on Friday as coach of the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nasr after a series of poor results.
The 50-year-old – a member of the Italian side that reached the 1990 World Cup semi-finals when Italy hosted the tournament – had guided Al-Nasr to the top of the Saudi championship but recent results had seen them slip to second.
Zenga – who won two UEFA Cups and a Serie A title during his time as Inter Milan goalkeeper – had accrued considerable previous coaching experience.
Prior to his stint with Al-Nasr, Zenga has coached in the United States, Romania, Serbia and Turkey before managing Sicilian outfits Catania and Palermo in the Italian Serie A.
Fergie: We can regain title if we still lead table on Jan 4
MANCHESTER: Alex Ferguson believes Manchester United will have taken a significant step towards winning back the Premier League title if they are still top of the table on Jan 4.
United, unbeaten in the league this season, are two points clear at the top and with a game in hand.
They hosted Sunderland yesterday before travelling to Birmingham on Tuesday and West Brom on Saturday before a home match against Stoke on Jan 4.
United manager Ferguson believes there is much more to come from his side, who have drawn six of their seven away matches and whose performances have faced plenty of criticism.
And, having seen their run of three straight league titles brought to an end by Chelsea last season, he feels that this run of four games will be crucial to United’s prospects.
“My aim is to be top of the league by Jan 4,” Ferguson said. “If we’re still top then, we’ve done well.
“Someone asked me ‘are you surprised to be top of the league? I’m only surprised that people are surprised all the top teams are dropping points.
“They don’t recognise how tough the league is now.
“It’s a hectic period for us, though not as much as usual because of the two games that were postponed in December.
“Nonetheless, four games in the space of 10 days is a big job, though of course we could have more postponements yet.”
One of United’s below-par away displays was the goalless draw at Sunderland where Ferguson admits his men were lucky to escape with a point.
The Blacks Cats are unbeaten in the league at home this season and Ferguson believes a Sunderland side managed by Steve Bruce, one of his former United captains, are worthy of respect and cited their 3-0 win away to Chelsea last month as evidence of their quality.
“It (the Sunderland match) was the toughest game we’ve had away from home, I think. Their away form has not been great – Steve has referred to that.
“But I watched the game (at Chelsea) and they could have won by six or seven that day.
Ferguson, who recently became United’s longest-serving manager having taken over in 1986, said: “I could point to maybe six perfect performances in all the time I’ve been here, and Steve will look at that game as one of those. It was absolutely brilliant.
Ji-sung leaves Man United but believes they will thrive in his absence
MANCHESTER: Park Ji-sung has admitted he is frustrated to be leaving Manchester United when they are top of the Premier League but expects them to still be there when he returns from Asia Cup duty with South Korea.
“Playing for the national team is an honour, but I am also very happy to play for United, so missing several games is disappointing,” said in-form midfielder Ji-sung, who has scored six goals this season.
“But United have a big enough squad to be very strong and they will do well without me. I will keep an eye on United’s schedule and results when I am away – I will focus on the team.
“And I totally believe we will still be top when I come back. I have no doubts we will be in the same position as we are at the moment,” he added.
Park, who has had to balance his commitments with European club sides and at international level for eight years, is thinking of retiring from South Korea duty after the Asia Cup in Qatar.
“For now I can’t say anything. Maybe after the Asia Cup I will,” he said.
But first Ji-sung still has club work to perform ahead of United’s match against a Sunderland side who held United to a draw at the Stadium of Light and won away at Premier League champions Chelsea last month in one of the shock results of this season.
“Sunderland have shown what they can do against the big teams,” said Ji-sung.
“Their victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was a great result. They probably think they can do the same at Old Trafford.
“We need to be aware of that and concentrate because this will not be easy.”
Ji-sung said the congested Christmas and New Year period would have a key bearing on the outcome of the title race.
“Previous seasons have suggested this is quite an important period because there are so many matches in such a short space of time,” he said.
“There is a long time to go but four games in nine days is quite a lot. If you are not in form, you can lose a lot of points very quickly.
“In order to win the league, it is very valuable to pick up as many points as possible during this period.”
Man United stay top, City punish Magpies defensive blunders to go second
LONDON: Manchester United remained two points clear at the top of the English Premier League yesterday as Manchester City moved up into second place in the table.
Dimitar Berbatov’s double saw United beat Sunderland 2-0 at Old Trafford while City, who were third on goal difference at the start of the day, won 3-1 at Newcastle in a match where Carlos Tevez scored twice.
Tottenham Hotspur can stay in touch with the top four if they win away to Aston Villa in the late kick-off.
Arsenal, who started the weekend in second, and fourth-placed champions Chelsea will look to maintain their title challenges when they meet at the Emirates Stadium today.
United were ahead as early as the fifth minute when Ryan Giggs’s run saw him find Wayne Rooney, whose cross was headed in by the unmarked Berbatov at the far post.
United had several chances to double their lead before Bulgaria striker Berbatov made it 2-0 in the 57th minute when his shot delected off Sunderland’s Anton Ferdinand — brother of United’s Rio.
Two defensive blunders saw Manchester City go 2-0 up inside five minutes away to Newcastle thanks to goals from Gareth Barry and Tevez.
Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul’s poor clearance was cut out by Tevez and the striker released Barry who scored from inside the area.
Argentina forward Tevez doubled City’s lead at St James’ Park just three minutes later after Newcastle’s Cheik Tiote gave the ball away.
Tevez pounced and fed James Milner before getting on the end of the midfielder’s return cross and finishing emphatically.
Newcastle got back into the match when striker Andy Carroll headed in a Joey Barton cormer in the 72nd minute.
However, Tevez sealed City’s win nine minutes from time when, after linking with Adam Johnson, his shot deflected off Newcastle’s Fabricio Coloccini.
West Ham moved off the bottom with a 3-1 win at Fulham as Wolves were left propping up the table after a 2-1 loss at home to relegation rivals Wigan.
England striker Carlton Cole scored two goals for West Ham, first cancelling out an opener from Fulham’s Aaron Hughes and concluded the scoring after Frederic Piquionne put the Hammers in front.
West Ham’s first away win in 27 attempts saw some of the pressure on their manager Avram Grant transfered to Fulham boss Mark Hughes.
“It was a good game for us - we came back which was amazing,” Grant said.
“The players are happy with the win and they want to taste it again.”
At Molineux, Wigan went ahead in the ninth minute when Wolves failed to clear a corner and Hugo Rodallega volleyed home.
The Latics then doubled their lead 11 minutes later when Rodallega turned provider to find Tom Cleverley, on loan from Manchester United, who slid in their second goal.
Wolves pulled one back through Steven Fletcher three minutes from time.
Bolton went fifth with a 2-0 victory at home to West Brom.
Matt Taylor started and finished a move with South Korea’s Lee Chung-yong in the 40th minute before Johan Elmander made the game safe in the 86th minute.
Stoke moved up into eighth with a 2-0 away win at Blackburn.
Robert Huth headed in a 51st minute corner before Marc Wilson’s last-minute strike secured all three points.
Blackpool’s match at home to Liverpool was postponed because of a frozen pitch while the clash between Everton and Birmingham also fell victim to the weather.
Wenger wants Arsenal to kill off Chelsea
LONDON: Arsene Wenger wants Arsenal to deliver a hammer blow to Chelsea’s title challenge when the champions visit the Emirates Stadium in a crucial London derby today.
Wenger’s side have endured a miserable run against Chelsea recently, but they have a golden opportunity to end that barren streak of five successive defeats in their final home match of 2010.
While Chelsea have slipped to fourth in the Premier League after failing to win any of their last five matches, the Gunners have moved one point above their rivals into second place thanks to some impressive performances.
Arsenal’s only slip came two weeks ago when they lost to leaders Manchester United, but, despite being widely written off as title contenders in pre-season, they have managed to outshine Carlo Ancelotti’s team over the last two months and Wenger knows they can significantly damage Chelsea’s chances with victory in the first of their Christmas fixtures.
“Of course this is a must-win game,” Wenger said. “We have mixed feelings because we came out of both games against Chelsea and Manchester United this season thinking we could have won and that there wasn’t a difference between the teams.
“We have a good opportunity to show that in the coming months and that our improvement is bigger than any other team because we are a very young side.
“We are confident over taking Chelsea on at home. Chelsea have gone through a period where results are a bit less good but that can happen to anyone in this league.
“They have a little bit less confidence than they had in October but we know that winning will be down to our performance.
“We want to put a top-level performance in at the Emirates and show we are masters at home.”
Wenger hopes the boost of having captain Cesc Fabregas and Dutch forward Robin van Persie starting together for the first time since August will spark his team to a landmark victory.
But Chelsea boss Ancelotti believes the presence of Frank Lampard in the team after his three-month injury absence could prove decisive.
Lampard has been sidelined by hernia surgery and a groin injury and the England midfielder’s eye for goal and energetic displays have been sorely missed during Chelsea’s dismal run.
“It’s very important to have him in our attacking play and when we have the ball. That will increase our possibility to score,” Ancelotti said.
“Having him back will be fantastic news. He will be able to play. He’s fit. He’s excited.
“It’s very difficult to find this kind of player who has the capability of scoring 20 goals. He has character, ability, he always runs and works hard.
“He’s so professional. In the (transfer) market there is no player capable of replacing Lampard.”
After starting the season with a blizzard of goals and dominant displays that had many proclaiming them as certainties to retain the title, Chelsea looked far from invincible as injuries to Lampard, John Terry, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba took their toll.
That quartet are all back now though and Ancelotti will be left with no excuses if Chelsea continue to fall further off the pace.
The Italian’s claims that it is harder to stay at the top than get there are unlikely to cut any ice with notoriously demanding Blues owner Roman Abramovich and his coterie of advisors.
“In football it is difficult to maintain first place. It’s easier to arrive first. It’s very difficult to maintain it,” Ancelotti said.
“It’s harder to stay at the top of the table. Obviously, it’s harder now to win the title and stay at the top level. But that’s a fantastic motivation for us.”
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