Guus Hiddink leads Chelsea here for a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League but the temporary first-team coach admitted that Manchester United are capable of winning all five trophies they are going for.
By John Ley in Turin
telegraph.co.uk
Chelsea stand between United and the two remaining domestic prizes; currently second to United in the Premier League, they face the potential of an FA Cup final against Sir Alex Ferguson's side if both teams are successful in their semi-finals.
Chelsea hold a valuable 1-0 lead going into Tuesday's tie against Juventus in the Olympic Stadium where Hiddink is considering a gamble of recalling Michael Essien for his first start since August, after he returned, as a substitute in Saturday's FA Cup win at Coventry.
Hiddink is expected to recall Essien – as well as Nicolas Anelka – whose season was halted by a knee operation. "I think it's very important from now until the end of the season to have a big squad in terms of numbers and quality," Hiddink said. "Essien has come back so we have more depth in quality in the squad. He can make his contribution like he did in the past.
"He was out for many, many months, so it's not easy for him to get the rhythm of the game from the first minute he plays. But he's very strong, a very positive guy, and he can have a huge impact for the rest of the season. He's ready."
Of United's quest for glory, Hiddink said: "They'd like to have the quintuple. It's very rare. But they are on all roads, and that has to be respected how well they're doing it."
United have already claimed the Club World Cup and Carling Cup, in addition to the Community Shield, and lead the Premier League by seven points.
Hiddink could not disguise his admiration for United, both in their pursuit of the perfect season and the manner of their performances, highlighted most recently by Saturday's emphatic 4-0 FA Cup win at Fulham.
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photo: Back in action: Chelsea's Michael Essien returned to action last weekend in the FA Cup against Coventry and could face Juventus in the Champions League Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Kevin McCarra
August 20, The Guardian
Sluggish ticket sales can be a sign of impatience. England fans are no longer so cheerful as they await a competitive fixture for Fabio Capello's team. At the beginning of this week only 62,000 had stumped up for tonight's friendly with the Czech Republic at Wembley. The ambivalence had been marked, too, when 71,233 gathered for the previous international there, against the United States in May. In themselves these figures will definitely not provoke panic at the FA.
Selling two-thirds of the seats by Monday would have made England the envy of most countries in the world and the total will have climbed subsequently. It was inevitable, too, that the desire to visit the new stadium would fade. More than a year has passed since it was opened with the masochistically scheduled match against Germany. Over the period that has followed, the novelty value has naturally tapered off.
All that is left now is for the England team to become an irresistible attraction. Capello himself would be disdainful of the idea that he is responsible for entertainment and seems to regard it as an outmoded aspiration. He is inclined to mention a worldwide decline in the number of top-class forwards. Nonetheless, an incisive England team is no luxury and dullness may meet with severe punishment in the World Cup qualifiers.
Only the winners of the nine groups in the European zone advance automatically to the 2010 finals in South Africa. The best eight runners-up go into play-off matches for the four remaining spots. England, if they are to avoid the terrors of a repechage, will most notably have to outdo Steve McClaren's nemesis Croatia, whom they face in Zagreb next month.
It is impossible for Capello to have so settled a line-up as Slaven Bilic but his period of experimentation is coming to an end.
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photo by the guardian
August 1, CNN
The Beijing Olympics lost one of its major attractions when Maria Sharapova pulled out of the tennis tournament with a shoulder injury.
The Russian world number three sustained the injury in beating Marta Domachowska of Poland at the WTA tournament in Montreal and immediately underwent an MRI scan to determine the extent of the problem.
The result was not encouraging and Sharapova told her official Web site of her disappointment.
"I'm currently packing up real quick to hop on a plane to New York for a second opinion (on the injury) but I wanted to let you all know first that there is no chance of me competing in Beijing," she said.
"The timing is so unfortunate and this makes me more sad than anything."
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photo: Sharapova has treatment for a shoulder injury that has ruled her out of Olympics. (Getty Images)
By Paul Radford
June 30, Reuters
VIENNA (Reuters) - Spain turned the Euro 2008 final into a football fiesta on Sunday, playing a dazzling passing game as they deservedly swept away Germany with a 1-0 victory.
A brilliant 33rd-minute goal from striker Fernando Torres graced a magnificent final whose scoreline did not reflect the supremacy of the superb Spanish side.
The long overdue victory in a major tournament sent fans in Madrid and all over Spain pouring on to the streets where they prepared for night-long celebrations, waving red and yellow banners and singing "Viva Espana".
Germany, as everyone knew they would, fought hard in Vienna and occasionally threatened on the break but they could not match the silky skills and swift inter-passing of veteran coach Luis Aragones's team.
In the end, Spain had 13 shots on goal to Germany's four, and seven on target to Germany's one, statistics which better reflected the margin of the Iberian triumph.
Thousands of Spanish fans in the Ernst Happel stadium celebrated ecstatically as they watched Spanish captain and keeper Iker Casillas hold the European trophy aloft after receiving it from UEFA president Michel Platini.
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photo: Spain's Fernando Torres holds up the trophy after defeating Germany in their Euro 2008 final match at Ernst Happel stadium in Vienna, June 29, 2008 (REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach)
Spain Dominates Russia and Advances to Final
AP
June 27, NY Times
VIENNA (AP) — Spain scored three second-half goals Thursday in the European Championship to beat Russia, 3-0, and advance to the final for the first time in 24 years.
The Spaniards, who have long been considered one of soccer’s biggest underachievers, will play old rival Germany for the championship on Sunday.
“For many years we haven’t won anything, while Germany is always up there fighting for the titles,” said Xavi Hernández, who scored Spain’s first goal. “So I would say Germany is the favorite.”
Against Russia, Spain used a penetrating passing attack in the pouring rain. Dani Guiza and David Silva also scored to give the Spaniards a shot at their second European title.
Spain, which won the 1964 European tournament, ended its run of five consecutive losses in the quarterfinal round by defeating Italy in a penalty shootout on Sunday.
Spain and Germany have not played a competitive game since the 1994 World Cup. Over all, Germany leads the series by 8-5-6.
Germany beat Turkey, 3-2, on Wednesday night and is seeking its record fourth Euro title.
“This team is already making history, but we can do even more,” the Spanish striker Fernando Torres said. “We’re proud of reaching the final, and against Germany on top of it all, which is a great rival.”
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photo: David Silva blasted a shot past Yuri Zhirkov of Russia to make it 3-0 and seal the Euro 2008 semifinal victory for Spain (Sergey Ponomarev/Associated Press)
By Richard Williams in Monaco
May 26, The Guardian
All through his childhood Lewis Hamilton watched Ayrton Senna, his hero, winning the Monaco grand prix. Yesterday, in the most demanding circumstances a racing driver can face, he got his own hands on the trophy after overcoming a track streaming with rainwater in the opening stages, a minor accident that befell him on the sixth lap and, not least, the two Ferraris starting ahead of him on the grid.
"I wanted to win at Monaco more than anywhere else in the world," the 23-year-old McLaren-Mercedes driver said last night. "This has got to be the highlight of my career and I'm sure it will remain the highlight for the rest of my life. Even if I win here again, which I plan on doing, this will always be the best one."
Hamilton won his first race around the winding streets of the principality in a formula three car in 2005 and repeated the victory in the GP2 series a year later. Last year, making his first visit as a fully fledged grand prix driver, he was forced by team orders to finish second behind Fernando Alonso. The lasting sourness of that experience made yesterday's triumph taste all the sweeter.
Afterwards he was surprised to learn he had become the first Englishman to win this most glamorous of motor races since Graham Hill took the last of his five victories in 1969. The result restores him to the top of the world championship, after six of the season's 18 races.
An incident-strewn race was halted after 76 of the scheduled 78 laps when the maximum of two hours had been exceeded. After Hamilton had opened up a 40-second lead on a drying track the second appearance of the safety car closed up the field. At the end, however, he was holding a steady three-second lead over the BMW-Sauber of Robert Kubica, with Felipe Massa close behind.
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photo: Lewis Hamilton celebrates his win in Monaco. Photograph: Robert Pratta/Reuters
By Rob Hughes
May 22, International Herald Tribune
The Champions League, Europe's most coveted trophy, is back in the hands of Manchester United. It was won at 1.34 a.m. in Moscow in the cruellest way a sporting contest can end -- on the penalty shoot out that many of us have compared to Russian Roulette.
At 90 minutes, the final against Chelsea stood all square, one goal apiece and nothing to decree that one side or the other deserved defeat. After 30 minutes overtime, and a total of almost 10 minutes more for various injuries and stoppages, the two teams were like exhausted prize fighters.
They were still on their feet, those that hadn't fallen with cramp. They were pawing instinctively at one another in torrential rain, neither having the energy to land a knock out blow. So to penalties, to the lottery that tests the nerve of men paid millions to be soccer players not men praying for a lucky break in a sequence of kicks on goal.
The shootout was like the game itself, the teams were inseparable over the first 10 penalty kicks. Of all people, the first man whose nerve failed was Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the finest player in the world at the moment.
He had already scored a proper goal, rising in the area after 26 minutes, escaping his marker Michael Essien and, tall man that Ronaldo is, guiding the cross from Wes Brown with consummate power and precision into the top of the net.
United should then have consolidated because its game flowed with movement and passing that Chelsea could not compete with. Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes were the pass-masters, and twice Carlos Tevez, his aim not a match for his energy, failed to capitalise on chances.
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photo: Edwin van der Sar saved Nicolas Anelka's penalty to seal the victory by diving correctly to his right. (Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)
By Danielle Rossingh and Helene Fouquet
May 15, Bloomberg
Justine Henin, the top-ranked women's tennis player, said she's quitting the sport immediately at age 25 to make ``a new start'' in life.
``It's a relief, a new page is opening up,'' Henin told reporters during a press conference at her tennis academy in Limelette, Belgium. ``I look toward to the future. It's a way of looking at what's essential.''
She is retiring after an emotional year, and following her most successful season. Henin won 10 of the 14 events she entered in 2007, including the French and U.S. opens. She skipped the 2007 Australian Open after separating from her husband, Pierre-Yves Hardenne, and patched up her relationship with her estranged father, sister and two brothers. Henin's mother died of cancer when she was 12.
This season, she hasn't been as successful on the court. She withdrew from this week's tournament in Italy complaining of fatigue. Henin lost in the third round of the German Open last week to Dinara Safina, a player who had never won a set against her. She has also struggled with a knee injury.
``It's pretty tough for me in the last few weeks and the last few months,'' said Henin, who has won seven grand Slam titles in her nine years on the WTA Tour. ``The game is tough, you need to be really strong physically and emotionally.''
Henin lost in the quarterfinals of this year's Australian Open to eventual champion Maria Sharapova, who is ranked No. 2 in the world.
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photo: Justine Henin of Belgium kisses her championship trophy following her win over Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in their women's final match on day thirteen of the U.S. Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on Sept. 8, 2007. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News
May 12, EyeFootball
It was Manchester United's day as they ran out 2-0 winners over Wigan Athletic to clinch their 10th Premier League title.
The Red Devils went into the match knowing that all they needed to do was win and they would be crowned champions, no matter what the result at Stamford Bridge where Chelsea were taking on Bolton Wanderers.
United won the game thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo
(penalty) and Ryan Giggs, where as Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw. Second half substitute Andrei Shevchenko had put the Blues in front but they were pegged back late on by Kevin Davies.
The Red Devils went into the match knowing that all they needed to do was win and they would be crowned champions, no matter what the result at Stamford Bridge where Chelsea were taking on Bolton Wanderers.
United won the game thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo
(penalty) and Ryan Giggs, where as Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw. Second half substitute Andrei Shevchenko had put the Blues in front but they were pegged back late on by Kevin Davies.
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photo by EyeFootball
By Alan Henry in Barcelona
April 28, The Guardian
Lewis Hamilton last night said he was "terrified" after his team-mate, Heikki Kovalainen, slammed off the track into a tyre barrier at about 145mph during the Spanish grand prix. The Finnish driver was trapped in the cockpit of his shattered McLaren for about 10 minutes before he could be released and taken to the circuit medical centre for an urgent check-up.
The car went off the track at turn nine on lap 22 of the 66-lap race, which was won by Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari, with Hamilton third. Although Kovalainen gave the thumbs-up as he was removed from the accident scene strapped to a stretcher, he was suffering from concussion and was taken by helicopter to a local hospital where it was expected he would be kept overnight as a precaution.
As Kovalainen wrestled to keep his car on its planned trajectory through the fifth-gear right-hander, the left front tyre exploded and the car skidded straight on, ploughing into a protective tyre barrier and becoming lodged underneath.
"As I passed I just saw a car in the wall and it was red," said Hamilton. "I didn't know if it was Heikki or one of the Ferraris but then the team told me it was Heikki, although at that moment they did not know how bad he was. They later came on the radio and said he was OK, just slightly concussed. I was terrified for whoever it was because I saw the impact was quite heavy."
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photo: Heikki Kovaleinen is helped from his McLaren Mercedes after his crash. (Photograph: C Thurston/Action)
REAL MADRID are locked in a battle to hijack Cristiano Ronaldo on the cheap.
By DAVID HARRISON
April 8, News of the World
The European giants will take advantage of the FIFA ruling enabling them to sign the Manchester United star in 2010 for the remaining two years of his salary — around £10million.
And that puts pressure on United to complete new contract talks to keep Ronaldo at the club until 2014 and increase his wage to £140,000 a week.
Reports in Spain and Italy are indicating that both Real and Milan will try to trigger the FIFA regulation to snap up the Portuguese winger, who has emerged as the hottest property in the world after his record-breaking season.
Real coach Bernd Schuster said this week that Ronaldo was in their sights, though he admitted that he did not think United would sell him at the moment.
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photo by NOTW
April 7, BBC News
Lewis Hamilton said he had failed his McLaren team after finishing 13th in the Bahrain Grand Prix and losing the lead of the world championship.
Hamilton made a mistake at the start, dropped to the back after a collision with former team-mate Fernando Alonso and was unable to make up lost ground.
"I am really disappointed and feel like I let the team down," he said.
"You need to pick up the pieces and deliver points. I didn't do that. The collision with Alonso cost the race."
The 23-year-old Englishman slipped from third to 10th at the start of the race to find himself stuck behind Alonso's Renault.
Hamilton tried to get past Alonso on the second lap but instead he went up and over the back of the Spaniard's car, losing his front wing in the process.
Some observers suggested Alonso appeared to slow down and give Hamilton a "brake test" but the McLaren driver refused to condemn his former McLaren team-mate.
"I am always the first to blame it on myself," said Hamilton. "That's the right way to go."
Asked exactly how the collision happened he said: "I have no idea. I was behind him, I went to move to the right, he went to the right and I ended up in the back of him somehow. It's racing."
McLaren boss Ron Dennis said: "He tried to second-guess Fernando and vice-versa and damaged the car quite extensively and that was really it."
Hamilton, who won the season opener in Australia and finished fifth in Malaysia, summed up the weekend as a "disaster".
His car needed to be rebuilt after a heavy accident during Friday practice.
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photo: Hamilton failed to score any points for McLaren in Bahrain (Getty Images)
March 30, Google News
JEREZ, Spain — Spain's Dani Pedrosa grabbed the world championship lead with a dominant display in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.
The Repsol Honda rider set a cracking pace after starting from second on the grid, serving notice of his intentions by setting a new lap record on the second lap.
He quickly left his rivals in his wake, leading all the way to notch up his 28th career win and fifth in MotoGP.
Italian Valentino Rossi, the five-time world champion in the top class, finished second at 2.883sec to record his 100th podium placing in this category with Pedrosa's Spanish teammate Jorge Lorenzo third at 4.339.
Pedrosa moves into the overall world championship lead after finishing third in Qatar three weeks ago.
"I was concerned above all in not making a mistake and keeping up a good rhythm," said Pedrosa.
"I was very happy and proud when the King (Juan Carlos) handed me the trophy.
"It was a surprise for us to win. We have worked very hard for this. It is unbelievable. I hope that we can continue in the same vein."
Rossi, who ended a podium drought going back to the Australian race last year, was delighted with his result.
"This is an important result for us," said the Italian, who is sporting a new look this season with a shaven head instead of the mop of curls adorned by earrings.
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photo: Dani Pedrosa notched up his 28th career win and fifth in MotoGP in Jerez (AFP)
March 17, BBC News
Lewis Hamilton believes his victory in the opening Formula One race of the season in Australia was the best of his five career triumphs.
The British driver, 23, won by five seconds from BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld with only seven cars finishing.
"It's probably the best race I've had so far in terms of managing tyres, controlling my pace and confidence, and being comfortable in the car," he said.
"But it's not the perfect win. There are a lot of areas I can improve."
Hamilton also said he was unconcerned by the pace shown by rivals Ferrari in an otherwise disastrous season opener for the Formula One world champions.
Kimi Raikkonen finished only eighth as Hamilton's McLaren won in Australia, but the Finn's Ferrari showed winning speed in an incident-packed afternoon.
"We could have gone quicker, so I'm not particularly bothered by Ferrari's pace," Hamilton, said.
"A lot of hype was put on them and they've obviously had a tough weekend, but you can't forget that they are a great team and they have a very good car and two great drivers."
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photo: Raikkonen (behind) was in contention by half-distance (Getty Images)
March 09, ChannelNewsAsia
BIRMINGHAM, England : Hampered by a knee injury, China's defending champion Lin Dan failed in his bid for a fourth All-England men's singles title when he suffered a shock straight games defeat from compatriot Chen Jin in Sunday's final.
Chen, the world No.4, had never beaten world No.1 Lin in six previous meetings, but he completed the championship without dropping a game with a 22-20, 25-23 victory.
Having had three match points he finally won it on the fourth with a cross-court smash.
Lin suffered an injury to his left knee in training recently in Beijing, and he said: "It really hurt when I got up this morning and I couldn't jump or smash properly. I did think about pulling out when he got ahead in the second, but there were a lot of spectators and I wanted to keep playing for them.
"I am disappointed, but I am also pleased for Chen. He is a good friend and a team mate and he deserved the win today."
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photo: China's Chen Jin dives to the ground to reach for a shot, during his match against Lin Dan (CNA)
By Wing-Gar Cheng
Feb 27, Bloomberg
Chinese sports fans may spend the next five months tracking medical bulletins after Yao Ming suffered a stress fracture in his left foot that might keep him out of the Beijing Olympics.
The Houston Rockets said yesterday the 7-foot-6 Yao will miss the rest of the National Basketball Association season because of the injury. He'll be sidelined for about four months before beginning his rehabilitation in the weeks leading up to the Aug. 8 opening ceremony in Beijing.
Yao's loss would deprive the Olympics host of one of its most recognizable sports stars internationally and most popular domestically. It would also harm China's chances of winning its first basketball medal and, according to the player, represent the biggest setback of his career.
``If I cannot play for my country in the Olympics this time, that would be my biggest loss,'' Yao, 27, said at a news conference late yesterday.
Interest in basketball in China has spiraled since the Rockets selected Yao as the top draft pick in 2002. About 300 million people play the sport, it's the most popular among youth, while the NBA is the most-watched overseas league on Chinese television.
``When it comes to basketball, he's the 800-pound gorilla,'' said Chris Renner, president of sports sponsorship consultancy Helios Partners China, in a telephone interview. Sponsors including Adidas AG and Coca-Cola Co. said they were preparing statements on Yao's injury.
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photo by wikipedia
By JESSE HUFFMAN
Feb 15, NY Times
THREE miles into the Kootenay Range backcountry by snowmobile, I stood alongside 50 other riders, gathered at the bottom of a wide and untracked sub-alpine run. The mid-January snowpack was so deep in the Interior Mountains of British Columbia that the effects of logging were buried beneath 180 inches of powder — the downed trees, stumps and rocks all transformed by the bounty of snow into a snowboarder’s paradise.
The conditions were extraordinary, and the crowd included Travis Rice, a professional snowboarder and multiple gold medalist in the X Games. But on this overcast Saturday, the draw was the third annual Greg Todds Memorial No-Board Race, and the challenge was simply to get down the hill — without bindings.
No-boarding is a young sport that replaces traditional snowboard bindings with a knobbed polymer traction pad and a heavy-duty bungee rope, which transform a snowboard into a no-board.
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photo: A no-boarder executes a no-rope surf slash (photo by Jenna Low for The New York Times)
By Steve Vickers
Feb 10, BBC News
Defending champions Egypt won a record sixth Africa Cup of Nations with a fully-deserved victory over Cameroon.
The only goal of the game came in the 77th minute when Mohamed Aboutrika pushed home a Mohamed Zidan pass after a mistake by Cameroon's Rigobert Song.
The Pharaohs also went close when Hosni Abd Rabou hit the post on 61 minutes and they become the first side to win back-to-back titles twice.
Cameroon were seeking a fifth title, but rarely troubled the Pharaohs.
It was a triumph for Egypt coach Hassan Shehata who becomes only the second coach to win successive trophies.
His team had much the better of the first half, creating most of the scoring chances with their speed and mobility.
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photo: Aboutrika scored after a mistake by Cameroon captain Rigobert Song (AFP)
By BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer
Feb 8, Yahoo
PHOENIX - Shaquille O'Neal flashed that wide smile, and took on the critics who say he's too old and too slow to fit in with the sleek, speedy Phoenix Suns.
"I look forward to making people eat their words," he said at a news conference Thursday. "I really do."
Wearing a Suns' purple shirt and tie with his immaculate dark suit, O'Neal met the media for the first time since the stunning deal Wednesday that sent the 14-time All-Star from the Miami Heat to Phoenix in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks.
He charmed the jam-packed room at US Airways Center.
Someone asked if he knew he looked good in purple.
"I already knew that," O'Neal said. "But thank you very much."
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photo: A smiling Shaquille O'Neal is introduced as a new Phoenix Suns basketball player at a news conference on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008, in Phoenix. The NBA trade sent Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to Miami for O'Neal (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Feb 1, CNN
LONDON, England -- David Beckham is determined to win his place back in the England team after being left out of Fabio Capello's first squad for the friendly against Switzerland next week.
Speaking in Brazil just ahead of Thursday's squad announcement, Beckham said: "I will carry on working hard and trying to get back in.
"I won't get bitter and twisted because I am old enough and I have got enough respect for the manager to realize that if it does not happen, life goes on.
"I have been lucky enough in my career to come back from tough times and disappointments.
"If it doesn't happen (winning a 100th cap), I will come back from it again, in my way. If it does, then great."
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photo: David Beckham will have to wait to earn his 100th England cap after being omitted by coach Fabio Capello (Getty Images)
