Osorio declines offer to coach Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP): Once Caldas coach Juan Carlos Osorio has declined an offer to guide Honduras leading to the qualifying rounds of the 2014 World Cup.

Osorio says he wants to fulfill his promise to coach the champion Colombian club.

He says he tried to persuade Honduras to let him start in June, but the Honduras Football Federation says it needed him sooner. Osorio says it "hurts" to reject the offer.

He called it a "wonderful opportunity but the word I gave to the leaders of Once Caldas weighs more."

The federation said in a statement on Saturday it has begun looking for a coach.

  

Newcastle overcome four-goal deficit to hold Arsenal

LONDON: Newcastle staged one of the greatest fightbacks in Premier League history yesterday, dealing a blow to Arsenal’s title hopes to claim a 4-4 draw on a day of record scoring.

The second-placed Gunners ran riot in an extraordinary opening at St. James Park, sweeping into a 4-0 lead after only 26 minutes thanks to two goals from Robin Van Persie and one apiece from Theo Walcott and Johan Djourou.

But the dismissal of Abou Diaby early in the second half gave Newcastle hope and when Joey Barton scored from the penalty spot, the fightback was on.

A further goal from Leon Best made it 4-2 before Barton’s second penalty cut Arsenal’s lead to a single goal.

With time running out, Cheik Tiote lashed in a 20m volley on 87 minutes to complete an extraordinary comeback.

Arsenal’s draw left them four points adrift of Manchester United, who can stretch their lead to seven points with a win over Wolves in a late match yesterday.

A total of 39 goals were scored across Saturday’s seven games, breaking the previous record of 36 for goals scored in a single day of the Premier League.

Third-placed Manchester City swept to a comfortable win over West Bromwich Albion at Eastlands, birthday boy Carlos Tevez netting a first-half hat-trick in a 3-0 victory.

Tevez’s treble included two from the penalty spot as the Argentinian took his goals tally for the season to 18.

In a dramatic match at White Hart Lane, Niko Kranjcar struck a 90th-minute winner for Tottenham in a 2-1 victory over Bolton.

Rafael Van der Vaart put Spurs ahead from the penalty spot on six minutes, and looked to have doubled his tally moments later when he buried a second spot-kick.

Referee Mark Clattenburg ruled Spurs players had encroached and ordered the penalty to be retaken. Van der Vaart shot the same way but this time his effort went wide.

Bolton looked to have done enough to earn a share of the points, courtesy of a Daniel Sturridge equaliser but Kranjcar’s strike settled it for Spurs.

Elsewhere, Fulham twice came from behind to grab a share of the points in a 2-2 draw away to Aston Villa.

An own-goal from John Pantsil gave Villa the lead on 13 minutes before Fulham hit back through Andrew Johnson on 52 minutes.

Kyle Walker put Villa 2-1 up but Fulham’s US international midfielder Clint Dempsey equalised.

At Goodison Park, Louis Saha struck four goals as Everton came from behind to score a dramatic 5-3 win over newly promoted Blackpool.

At the DW Stadium, relegation-threatened Wigan scored a vital 4-3 victory over Blackburn in a see-saw battle.

In the early kick-off, Robert Huth scored two goals in the final 10 minutes as Stoke City came from behind to defeat Sunderland 3-2.

German defender Huth struck the winning goal in injury time after earlier equalising on 83 minutes to cancel out an Asamoah Gyan strike that had given Sunderland a 2-1 lead.

Sunderland had earlier taken the lead through Kieran Richardson after two minutes before Sunderland’s new loan signing John Carew hit back on 32 minutes.

  

Leaders QPR move closer to the big league

LONDON: Division Two leaders Queens Park Rangers took a step closer towards automatic promotion to the Premier League with a 1-0 win at Reading on Friday after being a man down for more than half the match.

Wayne Routledge’s late winner saw the west London club go eight points clear at the top and was a reward for QPR’s resilience after winger Hogan Ephraim saw red near the end of the first half at the Madejski Stadium.

Ephraim’s poor touch saw him lose possession and, in his desperation to retrieve the ball, he lunged in on Reading’s Jimmy Kebe.

Referee Russell Booth was in no doubt as to the severity of the offence, producing a straight red card.

QPR manager Neil Warnock was so incensed by the decision to dismiss Ephraim he might have seen red himself.

But his side kept their cool and were rewarded eight minutes from time.

Playmaker Adel Taarabt sent Routledge clean through with a well-weighted pass and Rangers’ loan signing from top-flight Newcastle United beat the Royals’ Australian goalkeeper, Adam Federici, with a sharp low shot.

Afterwards an elated Warnock said: “It’s one of the best wins of my career to be honest.

“It’s nights like this why I don’t retire. My heart will probably go first,” the 62-year-old added.

As for Ephraim’s dismissal, Warnock said: “It’s a bad tackle, but it’s a winger’s tackle isn’t it? I’ve seen yellow cards given for that in the past and that would have done it.

“But we wanted to be positive in the second half. I wanted some guts and wanted us to go for it and we did that.”

  

Torres slams critics for questioning his move to Chelsea

LONDON: Fernando Torres insists he is not a traitor after Chelsea’s £50mil striker was accused of betraying Liverpool.

Torres is set to make an emotionally-charged Chelsea debut against his former club tomorrow just a week after completing his controversial British record transfer from Liverpool.

Reds boss Kenny Dalglish admitted he was disappointed by the timing of Torres’ move, which was finalised just hours before the close of the transfer window.

Torres was well below his best for much of this season and handed in a transfer request in an attempt to force through the move once he became aware of Chelsea’s interest, prompting some fans and former players to claim the Spain forward had been sulking for months.

But Torres is adamant he was always completely dedicated to the Liverpool cause and he slammed those who criticised the way he left Anfield.

“I think it is not fair. It makes no sense. I played three very good seasons there and scored lots of goals,” Torres said.

“I understand it was a difficult situation, especially in the transfer window, but I have to think about my career.

“Everyone will see it is a step forward. I know the plans Chelsea have for the future, the ambition they have and what they want to achieve.

“They want to build a great team and keep competing with Man Utd and Man City to be the best club in England and to fight for the Champions League.

“When I will be 45 I would like to look back and say I am really lucky to have this picture of me as a champion.

“I explained my feelings and was honest with everyone. Everything was straight, the main thing was to be honest and fair.

“Obviously they didn’t want me to leave, they tried to persuade me to stay but I told them I had made my decision.

“I don’t know how the fans will be but it would a surprise for me if I get a really bad reception.”

During his three-and-a-half years at Liverpool, Torres had appeared totally devoted to the Reds and he even claimed he would never play for another English club.

That pledge was swiftly consigned to history once Liverpool began to struggle and Chelsea came calling, but Torres insists he has never been the badge-kissing type who takes the plaudits then walks out when the going gets tough.

He felt Liverpool’s decline had been too steep over the last 18 months, with the departures of Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano convincing Torres the club lacked ambition.

“I never kissed the Liverpool badge,” Torres said. “When I was born in Madrid I wasn’t a Liverpool or Chelsea fan. I’m an Atletico fan, maybe that is the only badge I would kiss.

“People were talking about Liverpool winning the title or getting back in the top four but I could see from the beginning of the season that we would struggle.

“When you have a chance to play for a team who can win the Champions League and Premier League and compete with the best then you have to take the chance.” 

  

Liverpool boss Henry happy to pay big sum for Carroll

LONDON: Liverpool owner John W Henry insisted on Friday he had no qualms about splashing out a big fee for Newcastle striker Andy Carroll so long as the club emerged £15mil up on the sale of Fernando Torres to champions Chelsea.

The Reds’ decision to splash out £35mil on Carroll, still in only his first Premier League season, raised eyebrows but Henry said the fee was always contingent upon the money they received for Torres.

“The fee for Torres was dependent on what Newcastle asked for Carroll,” Henry told The Guardian ahead of a weekend clash with Chelsea that could see the forward make a debut for his new club against the one he’s just left.

“The negotiation for us was simply the difference in prices paid by Chelsea and to Newcastle.

“Those prices could have been £35mil (from Chelsea for Torres) and £20mil (to Newcastle for Carroll), 40 and 25 or 50 and 35.

“It was ultimately up to Newcastle how much this was all going to cost. They (Newcastle) made a hell of a deal. We felt the same way.”

With Ryan Babel moving to Hoffenheim for £6mil, the difference on the Carroll deal allowed Liverpool to pay for the £22.8mil arrival of Uruguay forward Luiz Suarez from Ajax.

Henry though said he was surprised by Chelsea’s decision to pay £50mil for Torres and added this raised question whether the London side, bankrolled by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, were truly committed to meeting UEFA’s impending financial fair play rules.

“I was surprised Monday morning to receive an offer (from Chelsea for Fernando Torres) in that amount at the same time they were announcing such large losses (£71mil for 2009-10),” Henry said.

Henry, whose Fenway Sports Group also owns the Boston Red Sox baseball team, added: “We’ve always spent money we’ve generated rather than deficit-spending and that will be the case in Liverpool.” 

  

English style will suit me fine, says new signing Suarez

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool striker Luis Suarez is confident he will adapt to the demands of English football after scoring on his debut against Stoke City.

The Uruguay forward arrived at Anfield on transfer deadline day from Ajax in a move worth nearly £23mil.

But while the injured Carroll could only sit and watch, Suarez scored Liverpool’s second goal in a 2-0 Premier League win over Stoke at Anfield on Wednesday.

It appeared the 24-year-old Suarez had carried on from where he left off at Ajax, having scored 111 goals in 159 matches for the Dutch giants.

“I was aware it would be quite tough to settle in and adapt with a quick, rapid style of football, but having seen what I saw against Stoke, let’s hope every game turns out like that,” Suarez said on Friday.

“It is a weight off your shoulders, scoring your first goal.

“You know everyone is keeping an eye on what you do so it does relax you and helps from the word go.

“But in terms of making the change from Dutch football, it is a case of doing what you have always done, concentrating on your own strengths rather than worrying about defenders.

“You just have to get on with it and play to your strengths.”

  

Ancelotti undecided whether to unleash Spaniard against Reds

COBHAM: Carlo Ancelotti admits he has yet to decide whether to play Fernando Torres from the start of today’s Premier League clash against Liverpool.

Torres has only trained with his new team-mates for three days since his transfer from Liverpool, but he is keen to make his debut against his former club at Stamford Bridge.

Ancelotti is certain to name Torres in his squad, but the Blues boss may opt not to change a winning team following Chelsea’s 4-2 victory at Sunderland in mid=week.

“Fernando is fit, OK, and has trained well. He’s available to play against Liverpool,” Ancelotti said on Friday.

“Obviously, I don’t know if he will start or if he will come on during the game. It’s my decision.”

For much of the season, Ancelotti has been playing a 4-3-3 formation with Didier Drogba supported by two from Nicolas Anelka, Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou.

But the addition of Torres means the Italian will consider tinkering with his tactics.

At Sunderland he played Drogba alongside Kalou, with Anelka just behind the front two, and the Italian could retain that formation to include Torres.

“He’s not a winger. He’s a striker. We have to find the right place to put him and the right system for all of the players to play together,” Ancelotti said.

“Everyone knows he’s a fantastic striker, he has abilities and skills to score. I ask a striker not just to score but to play for the team.

“You want to use his quality and ability for the team. This is our expectation. He’s an unselfish player and doesn’t have a problem playing for Chelsea.”