Wiser and formidable Socceroos aim to make amends

DOHA: A formidable Australia brings a powerful squad led by Everton’s Tim Cahill to the Asian Cup as the team looks to make amends for their disappointing tournament debut four years ago.

After switching from Oceania to the Asian Football Confederation, the Socceroos approached their first Asian Cup in 2007 confident of winning but learned some harsh realities about playing in the region.

They struggled with the heat and humidity in Thailand and Vietnam and crashed out in the quarter-finals to Japan.

Four years on, they are less complacent and more conditioned to Asian football. The milder winter conditions in Qatar should suit them better and German coach Holger Osieck has high hopes.

“I have the confidence that this team is pretty strong and they are ready to really produce something,” he said when naming his squad.

“Of course we are going there to have the best possible success.”

They are in a tough Group C alongside fellow regional heavyweights South Korea, as well as Bahrain and minnows India.

Only the top two progress to the knockout rounds.

Key players from the 2007 squad – Cahill, Harry Kewell, Lucas Neill, Mark Schwarzer and Brett Emerton – remain the core of the team.

They are, however, all past 30 and the Qatar tournament is likely to be their Asian Cup swansong.

Captain Neill said the team was fired up to win some silverware.

“To justify and put our name on the trophy would be fantastic ... it will improve the rankings and put some icing on the cake on a good era,” said Neill.

“Everybody plays the game to win and this is a great opportunity to go out and compete for major honours.”

Fulham goalkeeper Schwarzer, now 38, is taking nothing for granted, saying the last campaign showed Australia’s status counted for little on the pitch.

“You can talk as much as you want and be as highly ranked as you want that does not guarantee you anything,” he said.

“You have to put the performances on the pitch and last time our performances did not warrant us winning the tournament hopefully this time we can produce the performances ... and win the tournament.

  

It’s all doom and gloom for Bahrain

DOHA: Tiny Bahrain failed to get into the knockout rounds at the last Asian Cup in 2007 and with Australia and South Korea awaiting them in Doha a similar fate could be on the cards.

Avoiding last place in Group C must be their priority as they come into the tournament riding a poor run of form.

Their outcome is in the hands of former international Salman Sharida, who recently took over when Austrian Josef Hickersberger quit to return to his previous club Al Wahda of United Arab Emirates.

But Sharida, who lacks international experience, has enjoyed little success so far, and with failure at the tournament often seeing heads roll, he has his work cut out.

Under Sharida, Bahrain were held goalless by Uganda in November, followed by a 2-0 loss at the hands of fellow Asian Cup finalists Syria.

They were then held 1-1 in the Gulf Cup opener by Oman before losing 3-2 to Iraq, the defending Asian Cup champions.

The Gulf Cup turned into a disaster with the team only managing a point from their group – emphasising the difficulty of their task in Qatar.

A 1-1 draw in a warm-up game with Uzbekistan last week failed to lift the gloom before they bounced back to beat Jordan 2-1 in another friendly for a much-needed morale boost.

While Bahrain, who are in their third consecutive Asian Cup, haven’t made too many footballing headlines recently, they were plastered over the papers in September when they found themselves at the centre of an elaborate scam.

They beat Togo 3-0 in Manama in a warm-up to the West Asian Football Federation Championship only to find that the visitors were a fraud, masquerading as the national squad.

Amusing as it was, it came at a cost with several people, including an ex-Togo sports minister, being detained.

There is no chance of that happening in Doha with Australia and South Korea boosting top-rated teams full of European-based stars.

Bahrain open their campaign against the Koreans at Al Gharafa Stadium on Jan 10 before facing a must-win match against group minnows India, who are under the tutlege of English journeyman Bobby Houghton.

  

Minnows India not expected to produce fireworks

DOHA: It has taken India 27 years to qualify for its third Asian Cup and few are expecting any fireworks from a massive country that has never realised its footballing potential.

India are in Qatar courtesy of winning the eight-nation AFC Challenge Cup as hosts in 2008 – a tournament of lower-tier Asian teams.

It will be their first outing at the Asian Cup since 1984 where they failed to make any impact, in contrast to their maiden appearance in 1964 when they finished runners-up.

A repeat of that performance is highly unlikely with Bobby Houghton’s squad more concerned with preventing any embarrassing scorelines, with the might of Australia, South Korea and Bahrain awaiting them in a tough Group C.

If recent results are any indication, they could be seriously out of their depth having lost 2-0 to Iraq, 9-1 to Kuwait and 5-0 to the UAE in November.

That match againt UAE on Nov 18 was the last one they have played and they go into the tournament clearly under-prepared.

They have also been hit by controversy with manager Pradeep Chowdhury walking out on the team in December after an apparent spat with Houghton, with players accusing him of deserting them.

English journeyman Houghton, who used to play for Fulham and has previously coached China and Uzbekistan, admitted they face an uphill task.

“I don’t know what is realistic. We are 144 in the world and Australia and South Korea have just played the World Cup. That is a very tough group,” he recently told goal.com.

Houghton, who has been in charge of India since 2006, has also been struggling with a spate of injuries to key players, including captain and striker Baichung Bhutia, although he has been named in their squad.

The 63-year-old has been around long enough to know that a thrashing in Qatar will spell the end of the road for him, despite having a contract that runs until 2013.

  

Hoffenheim coach Rangnick quits after transfer news

BERLIN: Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick (pic) has quit after 4½ years during which he led the village team from the Third Division to the Bundesliga.

Rangnick’s decision followed the announcement on Saturday that their Brazilian defender Luiz Gustavo is being sold to champions Bayern Munich.

Hoffen­­heim said on their website (www.achtzehn99.de) that Rangnick would be replaced by his former assistant Marco Pezzaiuoli.

“It’s a unique case for a player to be sold without the coach being directly informed,” Rangnick was quoted as saying by the Bild newspaper. “That led to my decision.”

Dietmar Hopp, the co-founder of software giant SAP who has bankrolled Hoffenheim’s rise from obscurity, paid tribute to Rangnick as he played down any differences between the pair.

“The unique success of our progress to the top flight will remain closely connected with Ralf Rangnick,” he said on Hoffenheim’s website.

  

Struggling Racing Lens name Boloni as coach

LENS (France): Laszlo Boloni was named coach of struggling Racing Lens in place of Jean-Guy Wallemme, club president Gervais Martel said on Sunday.

Wallemme told officials he wanted to step down after the last game before the winter break against Bordeaux, Martel said in a statement.

“Laszlo Boloni’s mission is to keep the team in Ligue 1. “We need to focus on avoiding relegation,” he told a press conference. “Jean-Guy told me he was no longer able to give new impetus.”

Boloni, 57, is a former Romania international. He has coached French clubs AS Nancy, Stade Rennes and Monaco and Belgium’s Standard Liege.

Wallemme, a former Lens player, had been coach since 2008. He helped the Northerners reach the top flight in his first year. 

  

Xavi equals Barcelona record with 549th appearance

MADRID: Spain midfielder Xavi made his 549th appearance for Barcelona in their 2-1 La Liga victory at home to Levante on Sunday, equalling the club record set by Migueli during the 1980s.

The 30-year-old was joined by Migueli in the centre circle at the Nou Camp before kickoff, and returned there after the final whistle to take the applause of the home fans.

“I’m very proud to be able to wear this shirt and to match a Barcelona legend like Migueli,” Xavi told Spanish television.

“I want to continue defending these colours with all my heart and soul, and to win more titles. I am very pleased.” Barcelona’s coach, Pep Guardiola, told the post-match news conference: “What he has achieved is of gigantic proportions.

“I played 300 games, which I thought was a huge amount. Migueli played 549 and retired aged 38. Xavi has already played these 549 games and he is only 30, and has survived an operation on a cruciate ligament.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if he reached 700 games.”

Xavi joined the Catalan club aged 11 in 1991, and after progressing through the youth ranks he made his first-team debut under Louis van Gaal against Real Mallorca in the 1998 Spanish Super Cup.

  

Striker’s brace help Barca to laboured win over Levante

MADRID: Pedro scored twice as Barcelona made heavy weather of beating promoted Levante 2-1 to move five points clear at the top of La Liga on Sunday.

The champions, with 46 points from 17 matches, pulled away from second-placed Real Madrid.

Valencia consolidated their grip on fourth place with 31 points, a last-minute header from Juan Mata earning a 2-1 home win with 10 men over fifth-placed Espanyol.

Sevilla ended a run of five consecutive league defeats to edge out Osasuna 1-0, a header from Frederic Kanoute in the 36th minute proving enough as the home team climbed to ninth with 23 points.

Barca, without the injured Carles Puyol, suspended Gerard Pique and rested Lionel Messi, looked rusty after the league’s two-week winter break.

The hosts struggled to open up Levante’s massed defence until the 47th minute when Pedro kept his composure in a crowded area to score. The second came 12 minutes later, Dani Alves breaking down the right and crossing for Spanish international Pedro to sweep in his eighth league goal of the campaign.

The crossbar denied Pedro his hat-trick and Cristian Stuani pulled one back for Levante with a superb volley 10 minutes from time.

“We knew Levante would make it tough and that they would be looking for a reaction after losing 8-0 at the Bernabeu (in their last outing),” coach Pep Guardiola told reporters after Barca took their unbeaten sequence to 24 matches in all competitions.

“We didn’t play badly but we found it hard to break them open. In 50 years’ time teams will still be playing with 10 men behind the ball and it will continue to be hard to beat them.”

Valencia had the better of the opening exchanges at Mestalla and Aritz Aduriz powered them in front with an angled header from a corner in the 29th minute.

The visitors patiently worked their way back into the game but were lucky to level just before half-time when Valencia defender Ricardo Costa dived and headed Jose Callejon’s cross into his own net.

A foolish off-the-ball elbow from Aduriz left his side with 10 men on the hour mark, and as they pushed forward Espanyol’s Callejon almost put them ahead, Vicente Guaita pulling off a fine one-handed save.

Valencia’s Pablo Hernandez somehow scooped over the bar from close range, but in time added on Spain winger Mata raced in to head home from a well-worked move, though television replays showed he was in an off-side position.

In other games, Deportivo Coruna were 2-1 winners at Athletic Bilbao, who stayed eighth with 25 points, and Malaga dragged themselves out of the bottom three with a 2-1 victory at Sporting Gijon.