Sports Supplement 13th Issue

6
Saturday, April 29, 2017
DT
Football
Feature
7
Saturday, April 29, 2017
DT
Maradona open to coaching
Argentina, criticises Sampaoli
• Agencies
It remains to be seen who will take
charge of the Argentina national
team when they take on Brazil in
Australia in June, but Diego Maradona
has expressed his concerns
over Jorge Sampaoli's suitability
for the role.
The current Sevilla coach has
long been the favourite to replace
Edgardo Bauza and to try to lead
the Albiceleste to the 2018 World
Cup, but Maradona is unconvinced.
There is a lot being
said about the
Argentine team, but I
don't think Sampaoli
has the feel for it or
the connection with
the players
"I'm not sure [about him taking
the job]," he said in an interview
with Rivadavia radio station.
"The [appreciation] of Sampaoli
is inflated. With Chile he was
having an amazing career. Sevilla
aren't slowing down and I think he
is a candidate [for the Argentina
job], but I don't know if that's fair.
"There is a lot being said about
cleaning up the Argentine national
team, but I don't think Sampaoli
has the feel for it or the connection
with the players."
Maradona, who coached the team
to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa,
also refused to completely rule his
name out of contention.
"I am still Argentinian and I'll
die an Argentinian," he said. It's not
that I'm offering myself for the job,
but I'm saying that the coach inside
me hasn't died and that the smell
of the pitch continues to attract me
like the smell of a pretty woman."
As for alternative candidates,
the 56-year-old explained that his
role as a Fifa ambassador prohibited
him from suggesting any. •
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich yet again dropped
points as they were held to a 2-2 draw
at home to Mainz on Saturday but it
seems the games are running out fast
for second placed RB Leipzig, who drew
1-1 away to Schalke a day later.
Borussia Dortmund rose to third,
leapfrogging Hoffenheim, after their
3-2 win against Borussia Moenchengladbach
on Saturday. Hoffenheim
dropped to fourth following their 1-1
draw away to Cologne.
Max Kruse (Bremen)
The German
footballer
shone brightest
in the
Bundesliga
when he
netted four
times against
struggler Ingolstadt to take his side
to seventh position.
Real to be tested by Valencia
• Reuters
Real Madrid’s bid for a first La Liga
title in five years will be put to test on
Saturday when they host Valencia.
A Cristiano Ronaldo double saw
Madrid squeak past them 3-2 on the
penultimate day of last season, but
that was Real’s first victory over Valencia
either home or away in the league
since 2013.
A largely second-string Madrid
side, missing the rested Ronaldo, Karim
Benzema, Toni Kroos and without
the suspended Sergio Ramos, recorded
an impressive 6-2 victory away to
Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday.
Bayern out to secure title
• Reuters
League Round-Ups
Hertha Berlin are fifth after
their 1-0 win against struggler
Wolfsburg while Freiburg are a
surprising sixth following their 2-1
home win over Bayer Leverkusen.
LA LIGA
Real Madrid received a jolt in their bid
to win the La Liga title for the first time
in five years when they were beaten 3-2
by Barcelona in the El Clasico on Sunday.
Among other notable clashes over
TOP goal SCORERS
33 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
24 Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
19 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
16 Antoine Griezmann (Atletico),
Iago Aspas (Celta)
After a season that promised so
much, Bayern Munich have been sent
packing from two Cup competitions
in the space of eight days and Carlo
Ancelotti’s side are determined to
take a step closer to the league title
when they travel to VfL Wolfsburg on
Saturday.
A Bayern win combined with defeat
for RB Leipzig against relegation
candidates Ingolstadt would give
them an unassailable 11-point lead
with three games remaining. Bayern
are without a win in their last five
matches in all competitions.
TOP goal SCORERS
27: Pierre Emerick Aubameyang
(Dortmund)
26: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern)
23: Anthony Modeste (Cologne)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Messi bagged
four goals
this week in
La Liga, two
against Real
Madrid on
Sunday and
two against Osasuna on Wednesday
as Barca continue their surge
towards the title.
KEY FIXTURES
Real Madrid v Valencia
8:15pm, Saturday
Ten 3
Espanyol v Barcelona
12:45am, Sunday
Sony Six
POINTS TABLE
Teams P W D L GD Pts
Barcelona 34 24 6 4 68 78
Real Madrid 33 24 6 3 52 78
Atletico 34 20 8 6 35 68
Sevilla 33 19 8 6 19 65
Villarreal 34 17 9 8 22 60
KEY FIXTURES
Dortmund v Cologne
7:30pm, Saturday
Wolfsburg v Bayern
10:30pm, Saturday
Star Sports Select HD 2
POINTS TABLE
Teams P W D L GD Pts
Bayern 30 21 7 2 56 70
RB Leipzig 30 19 5 6 27 62
Dortmund 30 16 8 6 30 56
Hoffenheim 30 14 13 3 25 55
Hertha Berlin 30 14 4 12 3 46
the weekend, Athletic Bilbao defeated
Eibar in the Basque derby while
Atletico Madrid edged Catalan side
Espanyol.
In midweek, Barca thrashed
Pamplona outfit Osasuna 7-1 and Real
too were not to be denied as they
thumped Galicia side Deportivo la
Coruna 6-2.
In other results, Atletico were handed
a 1-0 loss at home to Villarreal while
Valencia suffered a 3-2 defeat against
Real Sociedad at the Mestalla.
2016
Jan 26 - Sharapova loses to old rival
Serena Williams in the Australian Open
quarter-finals.
March 7 - Sharapova calls press conference
at a Los Angeles hotel where she
reveals that after her loss in Melbourne
she tested positive for meldonium,
a substance placed on the World
Anti-Doping Agency banned list at the
start of the year.
March 8 - Nike, Tag Heuer and Porsche
halt their lucrative relationships with
Hero
Lionel MessI
Messi is our hero of the week following a
scintillating last few days for the Argentine.
He began the week with a brace
against Real Madrid in the El Clasico
on Sunday and if that wasn’t enough,
he followed it up with another double
against Osasuna on Wednesday.
Maria Sharapova doping ban timeline
Sharapova.
March 9 - WADA president Dick Pound
describes Sharapova's actions as "reckless
beyond description".
March 10 - Sharapova's racquet manufacturer
Head says it will stand by the
Russian.
March 12 - Sharapova insists that
contrary to media reports, she had
not received five separate warnings
about changes to anti-doping rules. "I
should have paid more attention to it.
But the other 'communications'? They
were buried in newsletters, websites,
or handouts," the Russian star said. "I
guess some in the media can call that a
warning. I think most people would call
it too hard to find."
March 15 - United Nations suspends
Sharapova as a goodwill ambassador.
March 24 - WADA says 123 cases involving
meldonium recorded since the
endurance-boosting drug was banned
on January 1.
April 13 - WADA says athletes could
escape a ban for taking meldonium
Quote of the Week
First of all, thank you for all the
support and love. It’s no news I got
injured so I will be out of football
for a while. I will go through this like
everything else and come back even
stronger. So far I played with one leg
so it shouldn’t be any problem. One
thing is for sure, I decide when it’s
time to stop and nothing else. Giving
up is not an option.
- The 35-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic, United’s
top scorer this season with 28 goals, wrote on his
Instagram account on Sunday
because it does not know for sure how
long it takes the substance to leave the
body.
June 7 - Sharapova earns $21.9m over
the previous 12 months, down almost
$8m from the previous year, according
to Forbes Magazine.
June 8 - Banned for two years by ITF,
Sharapova announces she will appeal to
the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Oct 4 - Ban reduced to 15 months by
Court of Arbitration for Sport.
2017
Jan 10 - Announces return to the tour will
be at Stuttgart on April 26 on a wildcard
Feb 8 - Madrid Open grants Sharapova
wild card for their May tournament
March 1 - Rome Open also gives Russian
wild card; Andy Murray criticises
such decisions, claiming players should
"work their way back".
April 19 - Sharapova celebrates 30th
birthday
April 22 - Sharapova beats Italian Roberta
Vinci in opening match
Sharapova wins on return
• AFP, Stuttgart
Maria Sharapova marked her return
from a 15-month doping ban
on Wednesday with a rusty 7-5, 6-3
win over Roberta Vinci in Stuttgart,
describing victory as the "best feeling
in the world".
Sharapova, the former world
number one and five-time Grand
Slam champion, brushed off a
nervous start to eventually claim
a convincing win on her controversial
comeback having tested
positive for meldonium at the 2016
Australian Open.
"It's the best feeling in the world
to walk out (on court), it's been a
stage of mine since I was a young
girl and it was very special," said
Sharapova who celebrated her win
with a succession of double fist
pumps and a broad smile before
blowing kisses to all corners of the
Porsche Arena.
"I have been waiting for this a
long time."
Sharapova was given a wildcard
to play in Stuttgart, where she has
been champion three times, a move
which drew a barrage of criticism
from rivals who believed she was
receiving preferential treatment.
She fired 39 winners and 11 aces
past 34-year-old Vinci, one of the
Russian's many critics.
After receiving warm applause
from the crowd, which included
one fan who held up a Russian
flag bearing the words “Welcome
back Maria”, Sharapova, dressed
in an orange top and lilac-coloured
dress, initially struggled.
She quickly found herself 2-0
down before she broke back to level
at 2-2.
As was to be expected after her
long break, Sharapova laboured to
find her shots and Vinci profited
from several mistakes.
But the 30-year-old Russian
started to move her Italian opponent
around the court and found
her range with a pair of aces.
Sharapova finally broke the Italian
in the 11th game and then held
her service, converting her second
set point in exactly an hour.
Vinci had lost to Sharapova in
both their previous meetings and
the Italian trailed from 2-0 down in
the second set on Wednesday.
Sharapova quickly moved to 5-3
ahead up with an ace and extended
her domination in the following
game, racing into a 40-0 lead and
converted her first match point for
victory in one hour, 45 minutes. •
fact file
Name: Maria Sharapova
Residence: Bradenton, Florida, USA
Date of Birth: April 19, 1987
Birthplace: Nyagan, Russia
Height: 6' 2" (1.88m)
Weight: 130 lbs. (59kg)
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed
backhand)
Status: Pro (April 19, 2001)
Career earnings: $36,484,486
Official website: www.mariasharapova.com
Twitter: @MariaSharapova
Career details:
WTA singles titles: 35
WTA doubles titles: 3
Grand Slam singles titles: Australian
Open (2008); French Open
(2012, 2014); Wimbledon (2004);
US Open (2006)
WTA Championships title: 2004
Fed Cup: 2008
Olympics: Silver medal, London
2012
Highest ranking: 1
Current ranking: Unranked
Win/Loss: Singles 601/145
Coaches: Yuri Sharapov (early
career); Michael Joyce (2008–10),
Thomas Hogstedt (2010–13), Jimmy
Connors (2013), Sven Groeneveld
Tweets
Andrew Orsatti
PR strategist
April 23
He came, he was
elbowed, spilled
blood, he conquered.
#Messi
#ElClasico
Gerard Pique
Spain and Barcelona
footballer
April 24
One more time
I gonna celebrate
Oh yeah, all right
Don’t stop the dancing.