Sports Suplement 28 Jan 2017

DT
VOL1, ISSUE 1 | Saturday, January 28, 2017
Sports Tribune
Bangladesh tour of New Zealand
Learning
curve
5
Nafees iqbal: No escape
when you drop catches
6
Liverpool face
Chelsea in midweek
Rooney’s five best
7 United goals

2
Saturday, January 28, 2017
DT
Week in Review
Picture of the week
This week
Manchester City’s Leroy Sane in action with Tottenham Hotspur’s goalkeeper Hugo Lloris before scoring during their Premier League match at Etihad Stadium in
Manchester on Saturday. The match ended 2-2
REUTERS
Sisters Act in
Australian Open
The upcoming week promises to
be a fascinating one for the tennis
fans, starting with the Australian
Open women’s final between the
Williams siblings Venus and Serena
on Saturday.
The Williams sisters will face
each other for the ninth time in a
Grand Slam final and the first time
since 2009. Venus will be looking
to seal her eighth crown while Serena
will be eyeing her 23rd title.
In the men’s final on Sunday,
Swiss Roger Federer will take
on Spain’s Rafael Nadal in what
will be a battle between the old
warhorses. •
January 25
Six wickets
in six balls
January 26
Galatasaray boss wants 5-goal Podolski to stay
It is every bowler’s dream. Six deliveries,
six wickets. The perfect over.
And for Aled Carey, the dream
became reality while playing
for Golden Point Cricket Club in
Australia.
Carey, 29, was unable to take a
wicket in his first eight overs against
East Ballarat in the Ballarat Cricket
Association fourth-team fixture in
Victoria. That all changed as the first
three deliveries of his ninth over
produced a catch at first slip, a catch
by the wicket-keeper and a leg
before wicket.
Cue hat-trick celebrations from
his team-mates. Yet there was more
to come from Carey. His last three
victims were clean bowled as the
opposition were all out for just 40.
Galatasaray manager Jan Olde Riekerink
said he hoped German striker Lukas
Podolski would stay at the club despite
persistent talk of a move to the Far
East, after the ex-international bagged
a five-goal haul in a cup game.
Podolski, who joined Galatasaray in
2015, has in the last weeks been linked
with a big money move to China's
Beijing Guoan and latterly to Japanese
January 26
Aussie bowler suffers
'brain bleed' after hit
Australia’s Joe Mennie suffered a
"minor brain bleed" and fractured
skull after a ball hit his head during
training, Cricket Australia said.
Mennie was bowling at a nets
session with his T20 Big Bash League
team Sydney Sixers in Brisbane on
Monday when he incurred the injury.
J1 side Vissel Kobe.
Despite the uncertainty, he fired
five goals for Galatasaray in Tuesday
night's 6-2 Turkish Cup victory against
third division minnows Erzincan.
It was the first time in 17 years
that a player had scored five goals for
Galatasaray in a game while Podolski is
just the fifth player in the club's history
to have achieved the feat.
"Podolski has from the first day
been a player who I believed in and
liked and I hope that he is staying," said
Riekerink, quoted by the Hurriyet daily
on Wednesday.
The Dutchman admitted that for
a player like Podolski, 31, "personal
considerations were important" and
the decision "has an effect on one's
own life".
January 23
Chapecoense draws first
match since plane crash
Chapecoense, the up and coming
Brazilian football club decimated by
a plane crash, proudly strode back on
the field Saturday in a new line-up for
their first match since the tragedy.
The team took the field amid
intense public and media attention
focusing on the 20,000-place Arena
Conda stadium in Chapeco decked out
in the home side’s green colour.
Although supporters had wildly
snapped up club jerseys online, and
241 journalists from around the world
were accredited for the game, the
stadium was not full. Tickets were
priced expensively at $25.
Editor’s Note
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news seriously, and the serious sports
fans have always known that the newspaper’s
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for all the sports coverage they are looking
for.
Today, we are proud to launch our
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domestic and international.
Sports Tribune will have everything
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hope that it will quickly win a place in
your heart and become a must-read for
you every Saturday.
Inside you will find in-depth analysis,
interviews, round-ups of the week in review,
and previews of the week to come,
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Analysis
3
Saturday, January 28, 2017
DT
New Zealand’s wicket-keeper BJ Watling attempts to run out Bangladesh’s Nurul Hasan during day one of their second Test match at Hagley Park Oval in Christchurch
Mazhar Uddin analyses Bangladesh's tour of New Zealand 2017
The reality check
Following recent successes in the
last couple of years or so at home,
Bangladesh had to prove their
mettle in difficult away conditions
when they toured New Zealand
after seven years. The Tigers had
to come out of their comfort zone
and face the music in pace-friendly
pitches and conditions.
By the end of the tour, it proved
to be a much needed reality check,
and indeed, a learning curve for
Bangladesh.
The 8-0 result across the ODIs,
T20Is and Tests might not reflect
the positives all that much. But still
one must also admit that the Tigers
did show character throughout the
month-long tour. There were some
individual heroics which would
definitely pump up the cricketers.
The visitors also went through
a string of injuries. As a result, five
Bangladesh players made their debut
across the three formats while
as many as seven cricketers embarked
on their maiden away tour.
Right from the start of the ODI
series against the Kiwis, sudden
batting collapses, along with poor
catching displays were regular
features for the Tigers and it continued
throughout the tour. It
eventually made the difference as
Bangladesh lost the momentum in
crucial moments.
The tourists lost all three ODIs
- by 77 runs, 67 runs and eight
wickets - and were unable to seriously
challenge their opponent in
any of those matches. The struggle
continued in the T20I series as
the Kiwis outclassed the Tigers in
all three departments of the game,
handing the visitors yet another
whitewash.
All of a sudden, pressure started
to mount on the Bangladesh cricketers
heading into the two-match
Test series that was expected to be
the biggest challenge of the tour.
Despite the recent historic Test win
against England at home, the Tigers
had everything to prove.
Interestingly, the Tigers
bounced back right on day one of
the first Test where Tamim Iqbal
and Mominul Haque scripted
confident starts under extremely
windy condition at the Basin Reserve
ground in Wellington.
The second day proved to be a
watershed moment for Bangladesh
cricket as Shakib al Hasan became
the Tigers' highest ever individual
run-scorer. He smashed his maiden
double hundred and eventually finished
on 217 runs, surpassing Tamim’s
previous highest score of 206.
The visitors went through a string of injuries.
As a result, five Bangladesh players made their
debut across the three formats while as many
as seven cricketers embarked on their maiden
away tour
Bangladesh Test captain Mushfiqur
Rahim also struck a magnificent
hundred as he, along with
Shakib, stitched together the Tigers'
highest ever partnership for
any wicket. The duo added 359
runs and helped post their second
ever highest team total away from
home. The Tigers eventually declared
their first innings on 595/8.
However, despite making numerous
records in the first essay,
Bangladesh ended up creating an
AFP
unwanted record. No team has
scored more runs in an innings
and lost a Test match. The Tigers
collapsed in their second innings
and were bundled out for just 160
to face a dramatic seven-wicket defeat.
With that said, there were still
some positives to take out from the
tour, starting with the determination
sown by injured cricketers Imrul
Kayes and Mushfiq, who came
out to bat in the second innings after
suffering an injury on his thumb
in the first innings.
The visitors incurred multiple
injury problems as Tamim captained
the side in the second and
final Test at Hagley Park Oval in
Christchurch with a relatively inexperienced
side. After fighting
neck and neck in the first half of
the five-dayer, batting debacle
once again haunted the Tigers.
They were skittled out for 173 after
posting 289 in the first innings and
eventually lost the game comprehensively
by nine wickets.
According to many, the tour of
New Zealand will make the Bangladesh
team stronger both technically
and mentally ahead of a tough
busy schedule this year, mostly
away from home. One certainly
hopes the Tigers will learn from
their lessons and move on. •
NZ-BD, 2nd Test
BANGLADESH 1ST INNINGS R B
Tamim c Watling b Southee 5 17
Soumya c Grandhomme b Boult 86 104
Mahmudullah c Watling b Boult 19 24
Shakib c Watling b Southee 59 78
Sabbir c Southee b Boult 7 8
Shanto c Raval b Southee 18 56
Nurul c Watling b Boult 47 98
Miraz b Wagner 10 13
Taskin c Williamson b Southee 8 26
Kamrul lbw b Southee 2 63
Rubel not out 16 21
Extras (b 4, lb 2, w 5, nb 1) 12
Total (all out; 84.3 overs) 289
Fall Of Wickets
1-7 (Tamim), 2-38 (Mahmudullah), 3-165
(Soumya), 4-177 (Sabbir), 5-179 (Shakib),
6-232 (Shanto), 7-248 (Miraz), 8-257
(Taskin), 9-273 (Nurul), 10-289 (Kamrul)
Bowling
Boult 24-4-87-4, Southee 28.3-7-94-5, De
Grandhomme 14-4-58-0, Wagner 18-1-44-1
NEW ZEALAND 1ST INNINGS R B
Raval b Kamrul 16 45
Latham c Nurul b Taskin 68 111
Williamson c Nurul b Kamrul 2 2
Taylor c sub (Taijul) b Miraz 77 103
Nicholls b Miraz 98 149
Santner lbw b Shakib 29 61
Watling b Shakib 1 4
De Grandhomme b Shakib 0 3
Southee c Miraz b Shakib 17 21
Wagner run out (Nurul/Kamrul) 26 54
Boult not out 7 6
Extras (lb 6, w 4, nb 3) 13
Total (all out; 92.4 overs) 354
Fall Of Wickets
1-45 (Raval), 2-47 (Williamson), 3-153
(Latham), 4-177 (Taylor), 5-252 (Santner),
6-256 (Watling), 7-256 (De Grandhomme),
8-286 (Southee), 9-343 (Nicholls), 10-354
(Wagner)
Bowling
Taskin 22-2-86-1, Miraz 19-3-59-2, Rubel
17-2-65-0, Kamrul 19-4-78-2, Shakib 12.4-
1-50-4, Soumya 3-0-10-0
BANGLADESH 2ND INNINGS R B
Tamim c Santner b Southee 8 19
Soumya c Raval b Grandhomme 36 64
Mahmudullah b Wagner 38 67
Shakib c Grandhomme b Southee 8 7
Shanto b Boult 12 60
Sabbir c Watling b Wagner 0 11
Nurul c Watling b Wagner 0 2
Miraz c Latham b Boult 4 22
Taskin b Boult 33 30
Kamrul not out 25 29
Rubel c Watling b Southee 7 6
Extras (lb 2) 2
Total (all out; 52.5 overs) 173
Fall Of Wickets
1-17 (Tamim), 2-58 (Soumya), 3-73
(Shakib), 4-92 (Mahmudullah), 5-100 (Sabbir),
6-100 (Nurul), 7-106 (Shanto), 8-115
(Miraz), 9-166 (Taskin), 10-173 (Rubel)
Bowling
Boult 17-3-52-3, Southee 12.5-2-48-3, De
Grandhomme 11-3-27-1, Wagner 12-3-44-3
NEW ZEALAND 2ND INNINGS R B
Raval b Kamrul 33 40
Latham not out 41 59
De Grandhomme not out 33 15
Extras (b 1, w 1, nb 2) 4
Total (1 wicket; 18.4 overs) 111
Fall Of Wickets
1-56 (Raval)
Bowling
Taskin 5-0-21-0, Miraz 6-0-27-0, Kamrul
3-0-21-1, Shakib 4-0-28-0, Shanto 0.4-
0-13-0
New Zealand won by nine wickets
MoM: Tim Southee
Series: New Zealand sweep series 2-0

4
Saturday, January 28, 2017
DT
Statistics
Test Series
1st Test
Bangladesh 595/8d in 152 overs
(Shakib 217, Mushfiq 159) & 160 in 57.5
overs (Sabbir 50, Imrul 36) lost to New
Zealand 539 in 148.2 overs (Latham
177, Kamrul 3/87) & 217/3 in 39.4 overs
(Williamson 104*, Taylor 60) by seven
wickets
MoM: Tom Latham
2nd Test
Bangladesh 289 in 84.3 overs
(Soumya 86, Shakib 59) & 173 in 52.5
overs (Mahmudullah 38, Soumya 36)
lost to New Zealand 354 in 92.4
overs (Nicholls 98, Shakib 4/50) &
111/1 in 18.4 overs (Latham 41*, De
Grandhomme 33*) by nine wickets
MoM: Tim Southee
New Zealand sweep series 2-0
Top 5 Bangladesh Wicket-takers
Player I W Ave BBI
Shakib 4 6 31 4/50
Kamrul 4 6 36.16 3/87
Miraz 4 4 67 2/59
Subashish 2 3 40.33 2/89
Mahmudullah 1 2 7.5 2/15
Top 5 Bangladesh Run-scorers
Player I Runs Ave 100/50
Shakib 2 284 71 1/1
Mushfiq 2 172 172 1/0
Soumya 2 122 61 0/1
Sabbir 4 111 37 0/2
Tamim 4 94 23.5 0/1
Tamim Iqbal of Bangladesh bats
during day one of their first Test match
against New Zealand at Basin Reserve
in Wellington INTERNET
1st ODI
Bangladesh 264 in 44.5 overs
(Shakib 59, Mosaddek 50*) lost to New
Zealand 341/7 in 50 overs (Latham
137, Munro 87) by 77 runs
MoM: Tom Latham
2nd ODI
Bangladesh 184 in 42.4 overs (Imrul
59, Sabbir 38) lost to New Zealand
251 in 50 overs ()Broom 109*, Mashrafe
3/49) by 67 runs
MoM: Neil Broom
3rd ODI
New Zealand 239/2 in 41.2 overs
(Broom 97, Williamson 95*) beat
Bangladesh 236/9 in 50 overs
(Tamim 59, Nurul 44) by eight wickets
MoM: Kane Williamson
New Zealand sweep series 3-0
ODI Series
Nurul Hasan Sohan of Bangladesh
bats as wicket-keeper Luke Ronchi
of New Zealand looks on during their
third ODI at Saxton Field in Nelson
INTERNET
Top 5 Bangladesh Run-scorers
Player M Runs Ave 100/50
Imrul 3 119 39.66 0/1
Tamim 3 113 37.66 0/1
Shakib 3 84 28 0/1
Sabbir 3 73 24.33 0/0
Nurul 2 68 34 0/0
Top 5 Bangladesh Wicket-takers
Player M W Ave BB
Shakib 3 5 33.8 3/69
Mustafiz 2 4 23.5 2/32
Taskin 3 4 39 2/45
Mashrafe 3 3 48.66 3/49
Subashish 1 1 45 1/45
1st T20I
New Zealand 143/4 in 18 overs
(Williamson 73*, De Grandhomme 41*)
beat Bangladesh 141/8 in 20 overs
(Mahmudullah 52, Ferguson 3/32) by six
wickets
MoM: Kane Williamson
2nd T20I
Bangladesh 148 in 18.1 overs (Sabbir
48, Soumya 39) lost to New Zealand
195/7 in 20 overs (Munro 101, Bruce 59)
by 47 runs
MoM: Colin Munro
3rd T20I
Bangladesh 167/6 in 20 overs
(Soumya 42, Shakib 41) lost to New
Zealand 194/4 in 20 overs (Anderson
94*, Williamson 60) by 27 runs
MoM: Corey Anderson
New Zealand sweep series 3-0
T20i Series
Top 5 Bangladesh Wicket-takers
Player M W Ave BB
Rubel 3 7 15.85 3/31
Mosaddek 3 2 29 1/22
Shakib 3 2 42 1/30
Mustafiz 2 1 51 1/21
Mashrafe 3 1 102 1/38
Top 5 Bangladesh Run-scorers
Player M Runs Ave 100/50
Mahmudullah 3 89 29.66 0/1
Sabbir 3 82 27.33 0/0
Soumya 3 81 27 0/0
Shakib 3 56 18.66 0/0
Tamim 3 48 16 0/0
Bangladesh’s Shakib al Hasan dives
to catch New Zealand’s Neil Broom
during their first T20 international at
McLean Park in Napier
AFP

Cricket 5
DT
Saturday, January 28, 2017
BANGLADESH
DEBUTANTS IN
TOUR OF NZ
Taskin Ahmed
Right-arm pacer
Test debut
Took two wickets and scored 49
runs in two Tests
New Zealand’s Tom Latham took a blow to the helmet from a bouncer from Bangladesh’s Rubel Hossain during their second Test match in Christchurch
nafees iqbal’s expert opinion
‘No escape when you drop catches’
• Tribune Report
Former Bangladesh opening batsman
Nafees Iqbal gives his take on
Bangladesh’s recent tour of New
Zealand.
INTERNET
Taskin [Ahmed] made his debut.
He is quite experienced in ODIs
and T20Is. He is a great bowler but
could have done better. But I was a
bit disappointed with the batsmen.
We lacked the intent, to be honest.
Subashish Roy
Right-arm pacer
Test and ODI debut
One wicket in one ODI
Took three wickets in one Test
Bangladesh's catching was belowpar,
along with their ground
fielding. Are you concerned with
the side's recent fielding displays?
Fielding is a very important part
of cricket now and has no alternatives.
Test cricket demands you to
take 20 wickets. There is no escape
when you drop catches of the home
team as they are used to playing in
their condition. But then again, no
one drops a catch intentionally.
However, I think we should have
improved in order to have a better
outcome.
Bangladesh have improved dramatically
in fielding over the past
few years so it is a bit disappointing
for not being able to live upto the
standards.
What went wrong with the batting,
across all formats, despite there
being a few high moments?
New Zealand are a very strong side
Bangladesh Injuries
1st ODI Mushfiqur Rahim – pulled
his hamstring, missed the
remaining ODIs and the
entire T20I series.
3rd T20I Mashrafe bin Mortaza –
suffered thumb injury, ruled
out for at least four weeks.
Tamim Iqbal – hurt his
left thumb while taking
a catch, x-ray came out
clear and did not miss any
match.
Imrul Kayes - tripped over
the advertisement boards
and hurt left knee while
at their den. My personal opinion
is that we should have won the
second ODI after getting a good
start. But irresponsible batting cost
us the game. Now we have some
excellent and world-class players
who have the ability to play in any
team around the world. So it is a
bit disappointing when things go
wrong in such manner. We do not
call ourselves underdogs any more;
we have passed the time when we
were at a learning stage. We have
trying to attempt a catch,
did not bat in the game
but played the remaining
matches.
1st Test Mushfiq – Returned in the
Test series only to pick up a
thumb injury, ruled out for
three weeks and missed
the second Test.
Imrul - strained front thigh
muscle, missed the second
Test.
Mominul – suffered a
bruised rib cage, missed
the second Test.
advanced now and proved that in
the last two years. I am not saying
that we should have won every
game in New Zealand but we could
have won at least one ODI and
drawn the first Test.
How did the five debutants
perform?
Talking of the fast bowlers, their
performance was decent. I think
they could have done better, given
the pace-friendly condition there.
359
Shakib al Hasan and
Mushfiqur Rahim's effort
is the fourth highest partnership for
the fifth wicket in Tests. This is also
the highest partnership for a visiting
team in New Zealand going past the
350 runs added by Pakistan's Asif
Iqbal and Mushtaq Mohammad in
1973.
Number of players to have held
3 the record for the highest score
and best bowling figures in an innings
in Tests for their team before Shakib.
He became only the fourth such player
when he went past Bangladesh's
previous highest of 206 - by Tamim
In Numbers
What are your thoughts on the
team selection during the tour?
It is a bit difficult to say anything.
It is easy to talk when you are not
part of the dressing room. The best
judges are the selectors, the coach
and the captain. I cannot make a
comment on that because I do not
know what happened in the meetings
and the dressing room.
Your expectations from the
solitary India Test?
I am very hopeful that the team
will perform well in India bearing
in mind the condition is similar to
that of our home. India always prepare
batting tracks so our batsmen
should do well. We have batted
well against England at home and
I believe we can do the same in India.
We should not be worried over
what happened in New Zealand as
the condition is totally different
from here in the sub-continent. •
Iqbal against Pakistan - in this innings.
Shakib is the third player from
3 Bangladesh to score more than
3000 runs after Tamim and Habibul
Bashar and the second highest
run-getter for Bangladesh.
Shakib joins an elite list of
14 14 cricketers to have scored
more than 3000 runs and to take
more than 150 wickets in Tests.
Previous instances in which the
6 No 5 (Shakib) and 6 (Mushfiq)
have scored a century against
New Zealand. Incidentally the last
three occasions have happened in
Wellington.
Nazmul Hossain Shanto
Left-hand bat
Test debut
Scored 30 runs in one Test
Nurul Hasan
Wicketkeeper-batsman
Test and ODI debut
Scored 68 runs in two ODIs,
took two catches and made one
stumping
Scored 47 runs in one Test, took
two catches
Tanbir Hayder
All-rounder, ODI debut
Scored five runs in two ODIs and
went wicket-less

6
Saturday, January 28, 2017
DT
Football
Liverpool face Chelsea in
massive midweek title clash
• Agencies
Liverpool will try and get an ever
diminishing title bid back on track
when they welcome Premier League
Leaders to Anfield on Tuesday night.
The game is easily the biggest of a
full diary of games this midweek, with
seven games on Tuesday and three on
Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Arsenal face Watford
and Spurs travel to Sunderland.
On Wednesday night, Pep
Guardiola’s Manchester City will try
and get back to top form against West
Ham while Manchester United host
Hull.
KEY FIXTURES
Arsenal v Watford
1:45am, Wednesday,
Star Sports Select HD 2
Sunderland v Tottenham
1:45am, Wednesday
Star Sports HD 4
Liverpool v Chelsea
2:00am, Wednesday
Star Sports Select HD 1
West Ham v Man City
1:45am, Thursday
Man Utd v Hull City
2:00am, Thursday
POINTS TABLE
Teams P W D L GD Pts
Chelsea 22 18 1 3 32 55
Arsenal 22 14 5 3 27 47
Tottenham 22 13 7 2 29 46
Liverpool 22 13 6 3 24 45
Man City 22 13 4 5 15 43
Man Utd 22 11 8 3 12 41
Everton 22 10 6 6 10 36
West Brom 22 9 5 8 2 32
Stoke City 22 7 7 8 -6 28
West Ham 22 8 4 10 -7 28
TOP goal SCORERS
15: Diego Costa (Chelsea) and Alexis
Sanchez (Arsenal)
14: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Man Utd)
13: Harry Kane (Tottenham)
12: Jermain Defoe (Sunderland)
and Romelu Lukaku (Everton)
11: Sergio Agüero (Man City) and
Dele Alli (Tottenham)
Milan aim to break
first-half bad habits
• Reuters, Milan
AC Milan’s slow starts to games are
threatening to undo the team’s good
work before Christmas and return
them to the mid-table mediocrity of
recent seasons.
Enduring their third campaign
without Champions League football,
Milan have been caught napping in
their last three games.
TOP goal SCORERS
15: Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan)
14: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Edin
Dzeko (Roma) and Gonzalo
Higuain (Juventus)
12: Dries Mertens (Napoli)
11: Ciro Immobile (Lazio)
9: Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina),
Marco Borriello (Cagliari)
and Nikola Kalinic (Fiorentina)
KEY FIXTURES
Inter Milan v Pescara
1:45am, Sunday
Sony ESPN
Sassuolo v Juventus
8:00pm, Sunday
POINTS TABLE
Teams P W D L GD Pts
Juventus 20 16 0 4 26 48
Roma 21 15 2 4 24 47
Napoli 21 13 5 3 23 44
Lazio 21 12 4 5 11 40
Inter Milan 21 12 3 6 11 39
Atalanta 21 12 2 7 9 38
AC Milan 20 11 4 5 7 37
Fiorentina 20 9 6 5 8 33
Torino 21 8 6 7 7 30
Bologna 20 7 5 8 -5 26
Wagner hopes Hoffenheim goals
earn Germany call-up
• Reuters, Berlin
Hoffenheim forward Sandro Wagner
will look to continue his goal-scoring
run when his club travels to in-form RB
Leipzig on Saturday, hoping for a first
Germany call-up at the age of 29.
The 1.94m-tall striker, known as
much for his physical game as for
provoking opponents' fans, is the most
prolific German forward in the league
over the past 18 months.
After 14 goals in the previous campaign,
Wagner has grabbed another 10
this season, with Hoffenheim remaining
the only unbeaten team in Europe's
top five leagues.
The former Germany Under-21
player, who scored twice in the 2009
European championship final over
England, is a late bloomer.
That Under-21 team was Germany's
most talented of the past decades,
with players like Mesut Oezil, Manuel
Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels
and Sami Khedira among other,
going on to carve out World Cup-winning
careers.
Wagner, instead, faded into the
background, having failed to break into
the Bayern Munich squad and leaving
in 2008 after only four appearances.
He had spells at Bremen, Kaiserslautern
and Berlin, among others.
KEY FIXTURES
Werder v Bayern
8:30pm, Saturday
Star Sports Select HD 2
Mainz v Dortmund
10:30pm, Sunday
Star Sports Select HD 2
points table
Teams P W D L GD Pts
Bayern 17 13 3 1 30 42
RB Leipzig 17 12 3 2 19 39
Hoffenheim 17 7 10 0 13 31
Dortmund 17 8 6 3 17 30
Hertha Berlin 17 9 3 5 6 30
TOP goal SCORERS
16: Aubameyang (Dortmund)
14: Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Stuttering Real under scrutiny after Cup exit
• Reuters, Barcelona
Real Madrid have come crashing back
down to earth in recent weeks after a
euphoric 2016 and must now cope with
a long injury list as they try to limit the
fallout from Wednesday's King's Cup
exit when they host Real Sociedad this
weekend.
The European champions are still in
pole position to win a first league title
since 2012, leading nearest challengers
Sevilla by a point and third-placed
Barcelona by two with a game in hand
on both teams.
Their 2-2 Cup draw at Celta Vigo,
which saw them exit the competition
4-3 on aggregate, exposed weaknesses
in Zinedine Zidane's side, who set a
Spanish record of 40 games unbeaten
in all competitions earlier this month.
There are a number of parallels with
Real's current predicament and the
New Year slump they experienced two
years ago with Carlo Ancelotti at the
helm.
A 22-game winning streak came
to an end in January 2015 and that
was swiftly followed by elimination
from the Cup by Atletico Madrid while
injuries also piled up.
Injuries forced Zidane to play midfielder
Casemiro at the heart of defence
against Celta and while Raphael Varane
is set to return to face Sociedad, he will
still be without Marcelo, Pepe, Dani
Carvajal, Luka Modric, James Rodriguez
and Gareth Bale.
Zidane appeared reluctant to
address their weaknesses against Celta,
however, such as a glaring lack of organisation
towards the end of the first
half when they went behind to Danilo's
own goal.
The sight of captain Sergio Ramos
remonstrating with his team mates
suggested the defence needed more
support.
Real's resolve will be put to the test
against Sociedad, who are fifth in the
standings, level on points with Atletico
Madrid in fourth, and beat Celta 1-0 in
their last outing. Champions Barcelona
visit Real Betis in Sunday's early game.
POINTS TABLE
Teams P W D L GD Pts
Real Madrid 18 13 4 1 31 43
Sevilla 19 13 3 3 17 42
Barcelona 19 12 5 2 34 41
Atletico 19 10 5 4 18 35
Real Sociedad 19 11 2 6 6 35
TOP goal SCORERS
15: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) and
Luis Suárez (Barcelona)
12: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
11: Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo)
9: Willian San José (Real Sociedad)
KEY FIXTURES
Villarreal v Granada
6:00pm, Saturday
Alaves v Atletico
9:15pm, Saturday
Sony Six
Real Betis v Barcelona
5:00pm, Sunday
Sony ESPN
Espanyol v Sevilla
9:15pm, Sunday
Sony Six
Real Madrid v Real Sociedad
1:45am, Monday
Sony Six

Football
Rooney – From Everton
prodigy to United great
• AFP, United Kingdom
After Wayne Rooney broke Bobby
Charlton's Manchester United
scoring record by scoring his 250th
goal for the club, AFP Sport looks
back at his career highs and lows:
HIGHS
Euro 2004 explosion
Rooney's emergence as a global
star can be traced back to the 2004
European Championship in Portugal,
when, aged 18, he terrified
opposition defences with his direct
running as England reached the
quarter-finals. His four goals saw
him named in UEFA's Team of the
Tournament and he left boyhood
club Everton for Manchester United
shortly after in a £27 million
transfer.
European glory
Aged just 22, Rooney scaled the
highest peak in the European
club game as United defeated domestic
rivals Chelsea in a penalty
shootout on a rain-sodden night in
Moscow to win the 2007-08 Champions
League. Teamed with Portugal’s
Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos
Tevez in a potent three-pronged
attack, Rooney also lifted the second
of the five Premier League
trophies he has won to
date.
England and
United
captain
In the space of a
month in the
summer
of 2014, Roon- ey was
named captain by both United and
England, respectively succeeding
Serbian Nemanja Vidic and Liverpool
legend Steven Gerrard. Rooney
described then United manager
Louis van Gaal's decision to hand
him the armband as a "huge honour"
and said captaining his country
was beyond his wildest dreams.
Claiming Charlton's records
Rooney broke Charlton's 45-yearold
England scoring record by
netting his 50th international goal
from the penalty spot in a Euro
2016 qualifier against Switzerland
at Wembley i n
October 2015.
With 119 caps,
he is already
England's mostcapped
outfield
player.
LOWS
Metatarsal woe
Rooney was tipped to
be one of the stars of
the 2006 World Cup
but he broke a bone in
his foot in a 3-0 defeat
at Chelsea six weeks
before the tournament.
And his tournament
ended in shame when
he was sent off in the
quarters for stamping
on Portugal's Ricardo
Carvalho.
Broadside at fans
Rooney top-scored for England
with nine goals in qualifying for
the 2010 World Cup, but he flopped
at the tournament in South Africa,
where Fabio Capello's side were
humiliated by Germany in the last
16. The burly striker snapped as
he walked off the pitch following a
dismal 0-0 draw with Algeria in the
group phase, sarcastically scowling
at a television camera: "Nice to see
your home (own) fans booing you!"
Frozen out by Ferguson
Alex Ferguson's final home
game as United manager was
a festive and emotional affair
as the Scot's record-breaking
tenure in the Old Trafford
dug-out culminated in
a 2-1 win over
Swansea.
But Rooney
was a conspicuous
absentee after
Ferguson revealed he
had asked to leave the club for
the second time in three years.
The Liverpudlian had previously
submitted a transfer request
in October 2010. His two attempts
to leave partly explain
why Rooney has never been
held close to the hearts of United's
fans.
Euro 2016 humiliation
Rooney went into last year's European
Championship in France
intending to make up for a succession
of disappointments in major
tournaments. Deployed in a new
midfield role by manager Roy Hodgson,
formerly the manager of Fulham
and the Switzerland national
team, he was praised for his initial
group-stage displays. His penalty
put England ahead against Iceland
in the last 16, but the minnows
roared back to win 2-1 and condemn
England to their biggest humiliation
since a 1-0 loss to the amateurs
of the United States at the
1950 World Cup. •
Rooney's five best United goals
7
Saturday, January 28, 2017
League Round-Ups
Premier League
In-form Chelsea continued their resurgence
under Italian coach Antonio
Conte as they swept aside Hull City
2-0 to go eight points clear ahead of
nearest challenger Arsenal, who beat
Burnley 2-1.
Liverpool's title hopes, meanwhile,
took a battering as they lost 3-2
against Swansea City while Manchester
United drew 1-1 away at Stoke City.
Manchester City and Tottenham
Hotspur played out a 2-2 draw in the game of the week.
LA LIGA
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
SERIE A
All eyes were on the San Siro as Napoli
beat AC Milan 2-1 to keep up
the pressure on Juventus. Juventus
however, barely broke sweat in their
2-0 win over Lazio. Seeking to stop
Juve from registering a record-extending
sixth league title, Roma
kept their hopes alive with a 1-0 win.
Fiorentina and Inter Milan beat
Chievo and Palermo respectively.
BUNDESLIGA
Sergio Ramos
(Real Madrid)
The World Cup, Euro and Champions
League winner netted a fine brace as
Los Merengues returned to winning
ways after losing against Sevilla and
Celta Vigo in the span of a few days.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Fernando
Llorente
(Swansea)
The Spaniard bagged a brilliant
brace as the Swan inflicted a 3-2
defeat over Liverpool at a raucous
Anfield on Saturday.
MSN were on target as Barcelona
thrashed Eibar 4-0 while table-topper
Real Madrid finally returned to winning
ways, courtesy their 2-1 win over Malaga.
Much like the EPL, the game of
the week between Athletic Bilbao and
Atletico Madrid also ended in a 2-2
draw while struggling Valencia posted
a morale-boosting 2-0 win over
high-flying Villarreal.
Surprise package Sevilla maintained
their brilliant run through a 4-3
win over Osasuna.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Paulo Dybala
(Juventus)
Argentine starlet Dybala gave his
side the lead against title rival Lazio
as Old Lady went on register their
27th consecutive home league win.
Hot favourite Bayern Munich kicked
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
off the weekend's fixtures with a 2-1
win away to Freiburg. Hot on the heels
Robert
at second are Red Bull Leipzig, who
Lewandowski recorded a 3-0 win over Eintracht
(Bayern Munich) Frankfurt.
Hoffenheim and Hertha Berlin are
Polish hotshot Lewa grabbed his third and fifth respectively with the
13th and 14th league goals as the former winning 2-0 against Augsburg
Bavarian giant got the better of SC and the latter losing 3-1 against Bayer
Freiburg 2-1.
Leverkusen.
On the other hand, Borussia Dortmund
beat Werder Bremen 2-1 to keep alive their European qualification hopes.
LIGUE 1
Free-scoring Monaco moved two points clear of second placed Nice in the Ligue
1 standings after their 4-0 win over Lorient. In the process, the Principality side
racked up 64 league goals in 21 games.
PSG remain third following their 2-0 win over Nantes while Nice's title hopes
suffered a jolt after Bastia held them to a 1-0 draw.
DT
Man United 2-1 Newcastle
(Premier League, April 2005)
Rooney's first season was a frustrating
one as his side were left for dead by
Chelsea in the Premier League and lost
to Arsenal in the FA Cup final, but he
gave a sign of the glories to come with
a stupendous volley against Newcastle.
Rooney was having an argument with
referee Neale Barry when Peter Ramage's
clearance dropped into his path.
He met the ball on the full 25 yards out
and ripped it into the top-left corner.
Man United 2-1 Portsmouth
(FA Cup, January 2007)
Rooney showcased a defter side to his
game with a delicate chip against Portsmouth
in the FA Cup. After receiving
the ball near the right-hand apex of the
penalty area, Rooney took a couple
of touches and then sent the ball in a
gentle parabola over goalkeeper David
James. "It was a fantastic goal and I remember
Eric Cantona doing that in the
FA Cup against Sheffield United," said
United manager Alex Ferguson.
Man United 4-1 Bolton Wanderers
(Premier League, March 2007)
Rooney formed a lethal duo with
Cristiano Ronaldo as United romped to
the Premier League title in 2006-07.
Rooney netted twice at home to Bolton
Wanderers and his first strike, was a
perfect illustration of the complicity
between the pair. From a Bolton corner,
the ball broke to Ronaldo and he
sprayed a pass forward to Rooney, who
returned it into his path. Rooney neatly
chipped goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Man United 2-1 Man City
(Premier League, February 2011)
Rooney scored his most famous goal in
a 2-1 win over derby rivals Manchester
City at Old Trafford. With the score 1-1
in the 78th minute, Nani curled a cross
into the City box from the right that
took a slight deflection. Loitering to the
left of the penalty spot, Rooney quickly
adjusted his body and launched himself
into a stunning overhead bicycle kick
that catapulted the ball into the topright
corner.
West Ham 0-2 Manchester United
(Premier League, March 2014)
Rooney had been threatening to score
a long-range lob for some time before
finally achieving the feat against West
Ham. As the ball bounced down United's
right-hand touchline, Rooney eased
defender Tomkins out of the way before
launching the ball into the sky from five
yards inside the West Ham half. Caught
off his line, goalkeeper made a desperate
backwards dash, but could not prevent
the ball bouncing into the net.

8
Saturday, January 28, 2017
DT
Back Page
Triple-treble no more
For years you’ve
worked hard to
accumulate gold
medals and you
work hard to be a
champion, so it’s
heartbreaking but
it’s one of those
things. Things
happen in life
• Agencies
A doping violation has trimmed Usain Bolt’s Olympic gold
medal collection by one, but it should do nothing to tarnish
his legendary reputation.
Even though the Jamaican sprinter has to give back the
gold he won in the 4×100-metre relay in Beijing, after it was
revealed Wednesday that teammate Nesta Carter had tested
positive for a banned substance, Bolt’s simply a bystander
in the mess.
Carter’s sample was one of 454 retested by the International
Olympic Committee last year and it came back positive
for the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine. Carter
ran the first leg of what was then a world record-setting relay
time and also won gold four years later in London.
The decision by the International Olympic Committee to
strip the team of the medal erases one of Bolt’s finest accomplishments:
the triple-treble, gold medals in the 100-
and 200-metre races, plus the relay, at three-straight Olympics.
Those nine gold medals tied him for the most won by
any track athlete.
The fact his total now stands at eight shouldn’t change
Bolt’s legacy.
This is Carter’s problem, and this is a problem for track
and field Jamaica.
No matter how you feel about the sport of track and field
in general — and its rich history of doping problems — this
shouldn’t be guilt by association. This is one athlete making
a poor decision and being caught on it almost a decade
later.
It’s unfortunate that the team aspect of the event automatically
pulls Bolt into the conversation and wipes out a
significant achievement, but, let’s face it, there isn’t a single
person out there that held the relay golds the 30-year-old
won in the same regard as the scintillating individual shows
he treated everyone to in Beijing, London and last summer
in Rio.
This story has been going on for a while.
When news first broke of the new testing and the positive
sample prior to the 2016 Games, Bolt was disappointed, but
he sounded like a man with eight more gold medals on his
mantel.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Bolt told The Jamaica Gleaner last
year. “For years you’ve worked hard to accumulate gold
medals and you work hard to be a champion, so it’s heartbreaking
but it’s one of those things. Things happen in life.
If it’s confirmed or whatever and I need to give back my gold
medal, it’s not a problem to me.” •
Tweets
Gary Lineker
Ex-England footballer
January 22
Wow. Offside but
a classy panenka
nevertheless from
Sanchez.
Piers Morgan
Avid football lover
and Arsenal fan
January 24
We should put
Bernie Ecclestone
in charge of the Brexit negotiations. No
better deal-maker in Britain.
Quote of the Week
“I’ll leave it all out here in Australia and
if I can’t walk for another five months,
that’s okay. I’ll give it my best shot,” he
said. “It feels amazing. I never, ever in
my wildest dreams thought I would
come this far in Australia. I have a
couple of days off. It’s beautiful, I’m so
happy.”
– Roger Federer said he was not worried about it and nothing was going to stop him
from taking to the court and fighting it out for a fifth Australian Open crown on Rod
Laver Arena on Sunday.
Hero
David Warner
Australia opening batsman and vice captain
was an unanimous choice for hero
of the week, thanks to his back-to-back
centuries against Pakistan in the fourth
and fifth ODI. Pocket dynamo Warner is
in blistering form, having smashed his
fifth ton in his last 10 attempts.