Monday, April 30, 2012
Romney Pulls Jimmy Carter Into His Bin Laden Fight With Obama
Crash That Killed Seven Was Along 'Cursed' Stretch Of Bronx River Parkway
Venezuela's Chávez Seeks Permission To Return To Cuba For Treatment
Obama: U.S. Always Brings Up Human Rights With Chinese
Stoke V Everton at Britannia Stadium : Match Preview
Olympics: Drug cheats given green light
Read More[category Sport]
Motorsport: F1 meets football
Read More[category Sport]
Football: Hodgson on brink of England job
Read More[category Sport]
Ivan Ljubicic retires from tennis
Read More[category Sport]
Euro 2012 finals interactive map
Read More[category Sport]
The Fiver | The England job; and 24-inch pythons | Barry Glendenning and John Ashdown
HODGSON'S CHOICE
It was heart-warming to see one national newspaper liken the FA's surprising decision to overlook 'Arry Redknapp for the England manager's position to its famously steadfast refusal to give it to the late Brian Clough, even while he was still alive. Closer inspection revealed the comparison to be a little bit wishy-washy, however, because if anything, 'Arry is better qualified for the job than Cloughie ever was.
A two-times winner of both Big Cup and the league with fairly small provincial clubs, who lots of England fans emphatically wanted to be put in charge of the national team, Ol' Big 'Ead famously never won the FA Cup. 'Arry, on the other hand, has won it once, which apparently makes him the ideal candidate for the England job, even if the only people the Fiver's heard enthusiastically clamouring for his appointment are assorted chums of his in the media and an increasingly large number of Tottenham Hotspur supporters.
But with 'Arry having been cruelly snubbed, it now looks a racing certainty that face-rubbing, head-banging West Brom gaffer Uncle Roy is set to take the job following talks with FA blazers this afternoon. But if some of the garbage the Fiver heard being spouted by assorted mouth-foamers on the radio is anything to go by, he could become the first England manager to be hounded out of office by an angry mob of pitchfork-wavers before he's even been measured up for his FA blazer.
If the considered views of these erudite folk are to be believed, Uncle Roy is an unsuitable candidate for the England job, because his speciality is getting spectacular results from fairly mediocre players and the world-beaters and tiki-takticians who wear the three lions on their chest deserve to be coached by a guru more worthy of their silky skills and sublime talents. No, really.
Such hogwash aside, even if Roy is the ideal candidate to maximise the slim chances of England's decidedly average rabble getting out of their group in Euro 2012, Hodgson may not be a popular choice in a dressing room top heavy with prima donnas who are unlikely to be taken by his insistence on tying small groups of them together with a long piece of rope and making them sleep, eat, train, attend video briefings and spend their leisure time in rigid banks of four.
With the inconsiderate FA engaging in its usual Fiver-unfriendly tactic of not breaking Big News before we've slithered unenthusiastically into inboxes worldwide, we don't have any quotes from either them or Hodgson with which to pad out this story. But luckily for us, here comes 'Arry Redknapp in his Range Rover and he's pulled up, rolled down the window and stuck his head out to 'ave a word.
"I like Roy, he's a top man," said 'Arry magnanimously. "There are some fantastic players in this country and I'm looking forward to watching the European Championship in the summer. Life is good, I'm a very lucky man." Having reached the pinnacle of his career to date, Roy Hodgson may also consider himself a lucky man. But given the ludicrously high demands of England's more delusional supporters and press-room cheerleaders, it is an emotion that he is unlikely to be feeling for too long.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"20 euros is what your mother costs" – a Rayo Vallecano banner takes aim at the club's decision to force even season-ticket holders to pay for their seats at Saturday night's game at home to Barcelona. Which they lost 7-0.
BELIEVE THE HYPE
City v United. It's big. In fact, it's BIG. It's bigger than Andre the Giant watching the Tom Hanks movie Big in a Humvee. It's bigger than a blue whale reading the BFG on Mount Everest. It's bigger than Sam Allardyce's first plateful at an all you can eat buffet. It's bigger than Dion Dublin's [SNIP! – Fiver Decency Ed]. It's a fixture so monumental in size that it can be seen from space. With the n@ked eye. From Omega Centauri.
Not that you'd think that from listening to Roberto Mancini. The Manchester City manager seems so convinced that the title race is over, that you wonder if he and his side will even bother turning up at the Etihad this evening. Indeed such has been Mancini's pathological determination to deflect pressure from his side that even in the event of a City win it wouldn't be much of a surprise if post-match he denies the very existence of a title race, the Premier League and football itself with a half-smirk and a diffident hand gesture.
United, being as used to pressure as a giant isopod with a particularly stressful job in deep-sea bomb disposal, have been happy to crank it up. "There is no mistaking that this is a massive game and the biggest in recent times," roared Ryan Giggs, flexing his 24-inch pythons and staring wildly into the camera. "We realise it's a big game but as a player you're used to it and, as a United player, we're definitely used to it."
But this is something different, something that even the octogenarian Giggs can't have experienced before: the Johnson-shrivelling tension of a derby coupled with the sky-high stakes of a title-decider, marinated in history, coated in thrills, sprinkled with thrills and slathered in more hype than a Jim White transfer deadline day appearance.
It's going to be 0-0, isn't it?
• Join Barry Glendenning from 7.30pm for live MBM coverage of Manchester City 0-0 Manchester United.
FIVER LETTERS
"People criticising the FA's choice of Roy on the basis of his time at Anfield need to understand that he was only seen as a failure there because thousands of deluded fans living on past glories had ridiculous expectations that he could deliver silverware with a squad containing a couple of decent players, surrounded by a bunch of overrated mediocrities. Ah" – Simon Cherry.
"I'm annoying even myself in writing this but 'St James' Park' (Friday's bits and bobs) is not correctly punctuated. James may end in s but it is singular rather than plural, hence the correct punctuation would be 'St James's'. Or, to simplify, 'Big Mike's cheap tracksuits two for a paaahnd dot com arena'" – Rob Farquharson.
"Can anyone explain why there's an apostrophe in there at all? If it were the Park belonging or pertaining to St James, it would properly be called 'St James's Park'. It must therefore be the Park in the St James area – in which case, there's no need for the apostrophe at all, as in 'I went down to the St James Infirmary'. Which is probably not a bad idea, considering the brain damage involved in constructing this correspondence. Even if there were a St Jame … no, enough" – Steve Bennett.
"If the Geordies are so exercised by the name change, why doesn't the local council just rename the immediate area, St James' Park [Aarrrgh – Fiver Ed]. Then the address would be Sports Direct Arena, St James' Park, Newcastle – problem solved. Or am I missing something?" – Haydn Pyatt.
"Whether or not you think the reasons behind it were justified, daft or otherwise, can we at least have a shout out to the Pope's O'Rangers support for defying convention and staging a protest walk not from a pub they were going to be in anyway to a match they were going to anyway? This may well be the first non-pub-we-were-in-to-match-we-were-going-to-anyway march in British Football history (post 1992, of course, when football began)" – David Edgar.
Send your letters to the.boss@guardian.co.uk. And if you've nothing better to do you can also tweet the Fiver.
BITS AND BOBS
Lukas Podolski will be agitating for a move from the Emirates in three years' time after confirming he will move to Arsenal from FC Koln in the summer.
In the most unsurprising development since Den and Angie Watts got back together for the 47th time, Carlos Tevez has declared his wish to stay at Manchester City in the long term.
Stoke's Jermaine Pennant has been charged with drink-driving, driving while disqualified and having no insurance after his BMW collided with a silver Audi in Sale.
And Fabrice Muamba may be at the Reebok Stadium on Wednesday to watch Bolton play Spurs.
STILL WANT MORE?
Want to man up and do manly apologies like England's Brave John Terry? Then you'd better read Five Things We Learned From Watching Football This Weekend.
In our big pre-derby interview, Micah Richards inexplicably overlooks Stuart Pearce while announcing that Sir Alex Ferguson is the greatest manager of all time.
Michael Cox has some chalk and a board, and he's not afraid to use them: here's his tactical preview of the Manchester derby.
If you think words are a bit pretentious, why not have a look at our gallery of the 2011-12 title race? It's got words in it too, but you can ignore those.
Heard the one about the goddess who was dressed up with nowhere to go? Then you'd better read Sid Lowe's La Liga round-up.
And Paolo Bandini ain't 'fraid o' no ghost whistles, but Lazio might be after a remarkable incident this weekend.
SIGN UP TO THE FIVER
Want your very own copy of our free tea-timely(ish) email sent direct to your inbox? Has your regular copy stopped arriving? Click here to sign up.
'GRAND TURISMO'?
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Read More [category Sport][tags Football, Sport]
Bundesliga farewells come early as Raúl and Ballack bow out | Raphael Honigstein
The Bundesliga said auf Wiedersehen to some big names on an emotional penultimate weekend in Germany
"Auf Wiedersehen." It's so polite a phrase that you wonder why the English didn't invent it. Rather than wishing people farewell or goodbye, "auf Wiedersehen" translates as "see you again". Isn't that impossibly nice? It's also very pragmatic, come to think of it. Chances are you will run into that person again, even if it's only in the form of unrequited Facebook chat attempts.
"You always meet twice in life," Berti Vogts darkly threatened when Rinus Michel's Dutch side murdered his Germany 3-1 in the 1992 Euro group stage. The Danes famously prevented that reunion, however, and it was probably for the best. In a German stadium "auf Wiedersehen" is generally used in a deeply cynical sense, melodically chanted by the masses on the happy occasion of an opposition striker being stretchered off, for example, or when the other team has just been relegated. But ironically enough "auf Wiedersehen" was nowhere to be heard this weekend, when the term would have been most apt: matchday 33 felt like one long goodbye, bursting with bouquets of flowers, tearful speeches and overblown sentimentality.
Unsurprisingly, Schalke 04 were at the forefront of big emotions on Saturday. A 4-0 win over unspeakably bad Hertha BSC secured direct qualification for the Champions League but many were feeling blue at the final whistle: it was Raúl's last outing in the Veltins Arena. The 34-year-old only played two years in Gelsenkirchen yet the supporters sent him off with a protracted ceremony fit for a genuine legend. On the video cube, Raúl's best bits (40 goals in 98 games, one DFB Cup, one Champions League semi) were shown while the Spaniard walked through the ground with his five kids in tow, shedding tears. "I've had two wonderful years, I don't find words for what I'm feeling," he said, "I've felt at home here." And then, in German: "Blue and White for life." The Qatar-bound striker admitted that two of his sons had tried to convince him to stay for another season and almost sounded regretful. "I thank myself for moving there every day," he had told Spanish reporters in Madrid last week. "I will have new goals now, not quite at the same level," the man they're calling "the Señor" added on Saturday. Maybe Blackburn Rovers, suitors in the past, will try to tempt him into the Championship?
Finally, Raúl went round the stadium in a VW bus, careful to avoid giant puddles of tears on his lap of honour. He wasn't quite "the best foreign player ever in the league" as former manager Felix Magath intimated but the Bundesliga will certainly miss his all-round class and glamorous appeal. "The Germans have beaten Real Madrid a second time on Saturday night," one Spanish paper wrote in reference to the player's rather less heartfelt exit from the Bernabéu.
In Leverkusen, 1-0 winners over Hannover, someone else's two-year spell came to an end at the same time. Michael Ballack conceded that the two injury-ravaged seasons after his return from Chelsea had not been "fantastic" but the Bayer fans cheered him nevertheless. The 35-year-old was visibly moved and thanked the supporters for a farewell that went at least some way to reconcile Germany's leading player of his generation with the wider public. Ballack admitted to making mistakes over the way his exit from the national squad was handled and hoped to be able to prove himself "somewhere else". He is adamant about playing on for another two years, preferably in MLS. Keeper René Adler is looking forward to a "change of scenery" after 12 years at Bayer, as well. His transfer to Hamburg, safe after a 0-0 draw with Mainz, should be rubber-stamped next week.
Adler will have to make do without Mladen Petric and David Jarolim at his new club, however. Both veterans were cheered off, somewhat against their wishes, in the Volksparkstadion. "I'm happy that I'm not the first sporting director who goes down [to the second division]," said Frank Arnesen. The Dane wants to overhaul the squad to target "the top eight" next season. In a shock turn of events, Latvian striker Artjom Rudnevs, 24, from not the Chelsea reserves (aka Lech Poznan) has emerged as a possible candidate for the next season.
We can also say a big "auf Wiedersehen" to Augsburg, albeit in the literal sense. Jos Luhukay's men will be back for another stint in the top flight in August, following their 0-0 draw at Gladbach. Their survival really has come against all the odds. "It feels like a championship," said Paul Verhaegh. "It's crazy, with this team and this budget," added keeper Simon Jentzsch. The Bavarians had almost no money but a manager who knew what he was doing, terrific team spirit and T-shirts that reminded them that "belief can move mountains". Their jubilation at the final whistle was mirrored on the other side of the pitch, where the Foals were jumping for joy after reaching the Champions League qualification. "This is a miracle," said Lucien Favre. But he could not hide his irritation with those who felt even more had been possible this season. "They're all sick here, I'm the only sane one," he said, making the point that his team "achieved the maximum". Next season, they'll have to do more or at least the same, but without Marco Reus (off to Dortmund), Roman Neustädter (Schalke) and Dante (Bayern).
You want more adieus? Take your pick from Werder Bremen's Tim Wiese, who is having a tough time deciding between an imaginary offer from Real Madrid – he's not even Turkish, for god's sake – and a real one from Hoffenheim. Marko Marin aka "the German Messi" (German media quoting English media quoting German media) is also off to Chelsea, and the prospect of Werder selling even more big names is a very real one.
In Munich, more flowers. The popular veteran keeper Jörg Butt was allowed to play one last match for Bayern (2-0 v Stuttgart). The 37-year-old didn't get to a chance to improve on his impressive goal record – he's scored 26 times from the spot – but was still the happiest man on the pitch. Unlike his outfield colleagues, he didn't have to wear the garish new away strip combining white with neon orange stripes.
For the mother of all goodbyes, one will have to wait for next week, however, when Lukas Podolski will ride Hennes, the live mascot goat, into the sunset while Die Höhner intone a Kölsch version of "Yesterday". Or something along those lines. The 26-year-old striker finally confirmed his move to Arsenal on Monday, promising to wear the Köln diamond-shaped badge "forever in his heart". After another awful defeat, 4-1 at Freiburg, Köln need one more point at home to de-mob happy Bayern on Saturday to secure the relegation play-off spot. It's a tricky scenario but the supporters of Germany's most emotionally unhinged club must secretly relish the opportunity to get one over the competition at last: with a bit of luck, they can afford folk hero Podolski not just one, but two melodramatic send-offs.
Results: Bayern 2-0 Stuttgart, Kaiserslautern 2-5 Dortmund, Hamburg 0-0 Mainz, Hoffenheim 2-3 Nürnberg, Gladbach 0-0 Augsburg, Leverkusen 1-0 Hannover, Wolfsburg 3-1 Werder, Schalke 4-0 Hertha, Freiburg 4-1 Köln.
• Latest Bundesliga table Read More [category Sport][tags Bundesliga, European football, Football, Sport]
Euro 2012 faces diplomatic crisis over Ukraine's jailed opposition leader
Germany leads west European and EU states threatening to boycott football tournament unless Yulia Tymoshenko is released
The 2012 European Championships were heading towards a diplomatic fiasco on Monday after more EU leaders said they would join Germany in a boycott of the event next month unless Ukraine freed the opposition leader, Yulia Tymoshenko.
On Sunday, Angela Merkel said that she and her cabinet would not attend any games played in Ukraine, which is co-hosting the tournament with Poland, unless the human rights situation under President Viktor Yanukovych improved.
On Monday, the president of the European commission, José Manuel Barroso, and Viviane Reding, the commissioner for justice, said they would not be travelling to Ukraine either. The Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, announced he was cancelling a visit to Yalta, while Germany's president, Joachim Gauck, called off a trip to the same central European leaders' summit last week.
An European commission spokeswoman said that "as things stand" Barroso had "no intention of going" to Euro 2012. She described Tymoshenko's predicament as "a very, very serious situation". "It gives rise to very serious concern," she added.
Tymoshenko, the former prime minister, was jailed for seven years in October after what her supporters say was a politically motivated show trial. She has been on hunger strike since 20 April. On Friday, photos appeared showing bruises on her body. Tymoshenko claims prison guards assaulted her and punched her in the stomach. Ukrainian prosecutors say her injuries were self-inflicted.
Tymoshenko is currently being held in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine. The city is the venue for Germany's first group stage match against the Netherlands on 13 June. On Monday, after seeing the photographs of Tymoshenko's bruises, Sweden's foreign ministry summoned the Ukrainian ambassador and demanded an explanation.
The political debacle is a huge embarrassment for Uefa. Football's governing body in Europe had hoped that expanding the tournament eastwards would showcase the progress made by independent Ukraine since the collapse of communism. Instead it is now possible that Yanukovych could sit in the VIP box on his own, with European leaders shunning him.
All three of England's group-stage matches take place in Ukraine, with two in the eastern city of Donetsk and one in Kiev. England is in the same qualifying group as Ukraine, and plays the host nation in Donetsk on 19 June. The final of the tournament, which runs from 8 June to 1 July, also takes place in Kiev, Ukraine's capital. The Foreign Office said it was "keeping the situation under review".
Denis MacShane, the former Europe minister, said David Cameron should make it clear that there will be no official British presence at Euro 2012 unless Tymoshenko is released and given medical treatment for her severe back pain. If Kiev refuses to heed EU concerns, England's three matches should be played in neighbouring Poland, he suggested. Charles Tannock, a Tory MEP for London, said he supported MacShane's proposal.
The criticism from western Europe has provoked a sharp response from Kiev. On Sunday, foreign ministry press spokesman Oleg Voloshin accused Berlin of cold-war thinking. Other officials suggested that the Germans should refrain from meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs.
"I wouldn't like to think that the statesmen of Germany are capable of reanimating the methods of the cold war," Voloshin said, adding he hoped the threat of a boycott was a "newspaper canard".
Voloshin told the Guardian in an email that Ukraine was being unfairly punished. "Our position is very simple. Euro 2012 is about football not politics. It's impossible to solve any political issues through boycotting sporting events."
In an apparent swipe at Germany's cosy relationship with Russia, Voloshin said that "other countries in the region" allegedly had more problems with democracy than Ukraine, but that German politicians "kept mum" whenever they staged large sporting events.
MacShane said Kiev only had itself to blame for the unfolding mess. He described Tymoshenko's trial as "purely political vindictiveness to ensure there is no coherent opposition to this increasingly authoritarian regime." He pointed out that when in power, Tymoshenko had refrained from prosecuting Yanukovych, after his attempts to cheat during Ukraine's 2004 presidential election backfired and sparked the country's Orange Revolution.
Yanukovych won power in 2010. "It is Yanukovych who is putting the clock back by jailing his political opponents, rather than arguing with them or outvoting them in the ballot box," the Labour MP said.
Andrew Wilson, senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the Ukrainian government has little understanding of how the western media works. It had apparently not foreseen that by jailing Tymoshenko late last year, the country would face a major PR disaster during the summer of Euro 2012, he said. He added that Ukraine now risked being branded "Shrek" to Poland's "Princess".
Wilson said that Yanukovych, who was elected in 2010 and faces parliamentary polls later this year, was part of a clan from Donbas, a Russian-speaking industrial part of eastern Ukraine. This clan – now in government – was more comfortable using traditional Soviet methods, he said. "These guys from Dombas have this Old Testament political culture of smiting your enemies massively and showing who is boss. But if you do this in Kiev there are foreign policy consequences."
The EU has frozen conclusion of an association agreement between Brussels and Kiev because of Yanukovych's policies. Austria is also boycotting the summit of regional leaders in the Crimean resort of Yalta, with Baltic states expected to follow suit.
Germany had been negotiating quietly for weeks with the Yanukovich government, seeking to get Tymoshenko to a Berlin clinic for medical treatment. German doctors who have been allowed to treat her say she is suffering from a herniated spinal disc.
Over the weekend, a handful of German politicians floated the idea that Ukraine should now forfeit its host role, with its matches staged in Austria or Germany instead. With only 38 days to go until the tournament kicks off this is unlikely to happen. But Uefa officials do have an emergency plan B to transfer Ukraine's games to Poland. Work on plan B has intensified following four mysterious explosions last week in the Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk, Tymoshenko's home town. Some 27 people were injured.
Last week, meanwhile, Rebecca Harms and Dany Cohn-Bendit, the Greens leaders in the European Parliament, wrote to Michel Platini, the Uefa head and former French national captain, demanding that the association take a stand on the Ukrainian political situation. "There has to be a clear public statement now from Uefa and the national football associations on the intolerable conditions in Ukraine before the tournament opens," they wrote. "It's inconceivable that we follow the tournament in the stadiums in Kharkiv, Kiev or Lvov while Yulia Tymoshenko sits in prison nearby."
Platini said at the weekend that Ukraine could not be barred from hosting the championship just because it was "less stable" than west European democracies. "It must be clear that there is no tolerance for human rights abuses and arbitrary justice in the football associations and among the players," the Greens leaders wrote.
Pressure is mounting in other countries too. On Sunday, Italy's foreign minister, Giulio Terzi, expressed "increasing worry" over Tymoshenko's situation and asked Ukrainian authorities to shed "full light" on the case. In a letter published on Sunday in the Rome daily Messaggero, Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister, called the campaign to free Tymoshenko "a political battle".
Berlusconi wrote: "I remain convinced that Kiev authorities have a lot to gain if Ukraine presents itself as host of a large sports event with a decisive step forward in the field of human rights." Read More [category Sport][tags Euro 2012, Football, Ukraine, Europe, World news, European Union, Poland, Germany]
Brighton trio charged with sexual assault
• George Barker, Lewis Dunk and Anton Rodgers bailed
• Steve Cook of Bournemouth also charged
Four professional footballers have been charged with sexual assault and voyeurism.
Three Brighton & Hove Albion players and a Bournemouth player were arrested in January after a woman made an allegation of sexual assault in Brighton on 17 July last year.
Sussex Police said George Barker, 20, Lewis Dunk, 20, and Anton Rodgers, 19, who all play for Brighton, and former team-mate Steve Cook, 21, who now plays for Bournemouth, have all been bailed to appear at Brighton magistrates court on 11 May.
They are all charged with one count each of sexual assault and one of voyeurism.
A 19-year-old man, from Brighton, arrested on suspicion of sexual assault at the same time, has been advised that no further action will be taken against him, the force added.
Police arrested five players from Championship side Brighton and one from League One side Bournemouth early on 19 January.
The Brighton defender Tommy Elphick, 24, who was one of six players arrested by detectives from the Surrey and Sussex major crime team, was eliminated from police inquiries the following day and was told no further action would be taken against him. Read More [category Sport][tags Brighton & Hove Albion, Football, Bournemouth, Sport]
Man City v Man Utd – live!
• Hit F5 for the latest or select our auto-refresh button below
• Check out the live, in-running, Premier League table
• Why not sign up for our daily football email, The Fiver?
• And email your views to barry.glendenning@guardian.co.uk
Carlos Tevez speaks
In an interview that has provoked much mirth among football fans the length and breadth of the country, Carlos Tevez has told the Manchester Evening News that he hopes to stay at Manchester City because he wants to "work hard and win things" because "that's all that matters to me as a player and a person".
In response to misguided cynics who suggest his sole motivation for moving to City was financial, Tevez was happy to set the record straight. "It was the project and the dream that made me come to City in the first place," he revealed. "I've been here since the start of that project and I share the same vision as Sheikh Mansour." According to Danny Taylor, of this parish, Tevez made similar noises in an interview conducted with the club's website in December 2010. Afterwards it transpired he'd handed in a transfer request a few days previously.
Some match pointers
• City scored six goals from just seven shots on target in their 6-1 win at Old Trafford earlier this season
• United have caught an opponent offside fewer times (36) than any other side; City are in second place with 39
• City have taken 77 from a possible 81 points in their last 27 top-flight home matches
• Wayne Rooney has committed the most without receiving a yellow card (24) in the division
• No Premier League team has ever won a return fixture after losing by five or more goals in the initial encounter
• There have been six red cards in Premier League meetings between these sides, and five of them have been shown to United players
Hello there
As the great Irish folk singer Christy Moore once said, how's it going there everybody, you're very welcome to this evening's cabaret. We've a potential thriller/woefully damp squib (delete according to half-full/emptiness of your glass) in store; a Manchester derby some martyrs to hyperbole are describing as the most important Premier League match ever played. The result will almost certainly go a long way towards determining the outcome of this year's Premier League title race, while simultaneously signalling a seismic shift in the English football landscape. Considering the amount of money they've spent in such a short space of time, it's only a matter of when, not if, Manchester City win the title, but their city rivals United will be ruthless in their determination to delay the inevitable for as long as possible.
The build-up to this evening's game has been relentless and this excellent preview piece by our chief football writer Danny Taylor will tell you all you need to know about the relationship between two clubs who, for all their cross-city sniping at each other down the years, haven't actually played many matches with anything more important than local bragging rights at stake. Tonight, both sides the stakes could hardly be higher, with the Premier League title on the line and both clubs very much in charge of their own destiny. A win or draw for Manchester United would leave them sin a seemingly unassailable position with just two games left to play, while victory for Manchester City will bring them level on points with their rivals, but with a crucially significant advantage in the form of their superior goal difference.
We'll bring you all the pre-match news and comment from 7pm, but in the meantime, why not pass the time by perusing our gallery of Manchester derbies down through the years, reading our Manchester correspondent Jamie Jackson's thoughts on how a calmer, more mature Wayne Rooney has put his side on the verge of their 20th title, or digesting Roberto Mancin's latest comments about howe the title race is so over, he's not sure Manchester City will even bother turning up for tonight's fixture.
Alternatively, you could read this preview of the tactics likely to be employed by both managers for tonight's ding-dong at the Etihad Stadium penned by Michael Cox of Zonal Marking fame, or take a moment to gaze at this relaxing picture of a peculiar looking neutral snoozing in a deckchair ahead of the big match while wearing Manchester City coloured Converse trainers and a Manchester United coloured straw hat.
Woof! Read More [category Sport][tags Premier League 2011-12, Manchester City, Manchester United, Premier League, Football, Sport]
Big Three's biggest problem is Europe
Read More[category Money]
NYSE operator hit by trading slump
Read More[category Money]
Occupy movement brings May Day protests to U.S.
Read More[category Money]
Harbinger's Falcone to leave LightSquared
Read More[category Money]
Chelsea's deal with F1 team Sauber
Read More[category Sport]
Euro 2012 finals nation map
Read More[category Sport]
Liverpool V Fulham at Anfield : Match Preview
Suu Kyi to end deadlock, take parliament oath
Read More[category World]
Hunger-strike activist wins new trial in Bahrain
Read More[category World]
As Diabetes Rises In Kids, So Do Treatment Challenges
Cracking The Code: Making Vegan Cheese Taste Cheesier
Twitter: From Infancy To Political Powerhouse
Political Chat: What A Difference 5 Years Makes
British High Court Order Big Internet Providers to Block The Pirate Bay
Lovren uncertain for Euro 2012
Dalglish wants to see fight for cup spot
Five Surviving Exotic Animals To Be Given To Ohio Man's Widow
Play Torres and Drogba - Cech
Hurst: England can reach semi-finals
Berezutsky in doubt for Euro 2012 with hip injury
Podolski quits Cologne for Arsenal
A recipe for Olympic success
Read More[category Sport]
NBA stars got game off court, too
Read More[category Sport]
Football: Fergie 'will diminish City'
Read More[category Sport]
Weak economic reports weigh on U.S. stocks
Read More[category Money]
Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano: a tale of two ends of the same city | Sid Lowe
While José Mourinho's team await their fiesta, Rayo's 7-0 home thrashing by Barcelona leaves them clinging on in La Liga
The goddess was all dressed up with nowhere to go: her hot date wasn't coming after all. Not tonight, anyway. She was just going to have to wait; probably not for long, but wait nonetheless. Sitting atop her lion-drawn chariot in front of the most elegant post office in all Christendom, Cibeles had been preparing since Saturday. The barriers had gone up, the platform had been built, and she'd even had a wash. TV stations prepared specials, just in case. It is here that Real Madrid celebrate their successes, with thousands of fans, open-topped busses and trophies getting crushed under the wheels. It was to here that they would return on Sunday night, celebrating the league for the first time in four years, since the oddly forgotten title won by Bernd Schuster's team in 2008.
A 3-0 win over Sevilla on Sunday at noon took José Mourinho's Real Madrid to 112 goals and 91 points, 10 points clear of their rivals. More importantly, it put them just three points from the title. Nine and a half hours and five and half kilometres away to the south-east, Barcelona were due to play Rayo Vallecano. Lose and the title would be officially Madrid's. It felt like there was a chance that Barça would lose too; in eight days they'd lost the Champions League and their coach – "I haven't died, I'm just leaving," Pep Guardiola insisted, pretty much summing it up – and had also conceded defeat in the league following the clásico. They had the substitute José Pinto in goal.
Madrid's players left the Santiago Bernabéu at 2.30pm, but they were told not to go far; if Barcelona lost down at the other end of town, they would be back again at 11pm, ready to board the bus along the Castellana. There was just one problem with the plan: Barcelona were one-up by 9.45pm, two up before 10, and four up by 11. When the final whistle went they were seven up – the score, not the drink. Cibeles was going to have to wait. Not particularly anxiously: Madrid travel to Bilbao to face Athletic on Wednesday knowing that a victory will make them champions and that a Barcelona defeat at home against Málaga will do the same. Even then, there's Granada away and Mallorca at home in which they could clinch it. But still, she was going to have to wait.
Her and the rest of the Spanish league. They were going to have to wait to find out when they were playing – the penultimate week of the season will go ahead on Saturday at 9pm, something the Liga de Fútbol "Profesional" helpfully announced on Monday – and they were going to have to wait to find out what they'd be playing for. One thing they won't have to wait long for is to play again: week 36, which is officially week 20*, starts on Tuesday at midday in Getafe. By Saturday, things should be clearer. Or less clear than ever. This weekend only one thing was definitively clarified: Racing Santander finally confirmed what was already obvious and went down, 10 years after they came up and 15 months since Ahsan Ali Syed, the businessman blocked from buying Blackburn, bought the club and promised to make it Spain's third force.
Everything else in the rest of the league got tighter. Madrid and Barcelona have 112 and 104 goals, respectively. Valencia and Málaga, third and fourth, have 105 between them. Madrid are 36 points clear of the two of them. This weekend they faced each other: Málaga beat Valencia, but only beat them 1-0, taking them level on points but leaving them trailing on the head-to-head (Valencia had won 2-0 at Mestalla). Meanwhile, Levante continued to refuse to toddle off back to their "rightful" place and beat Granada 3-1, staying within reach of a miraculous Champions League place. Atlético drew with Betis, Osasuna drew with Villarreal, and Athletic lost to Zaragoza. All of which means that with three games to play, there are just three points separating Valencia [55], Málaga [55] and Levante [52] for third and fourth. It also means that there are only four points from Atlético in sixth [49], the final European place, to Getafe in 12th [45].
At the bottom, the conclusion also does not look quite so foregone. Zaragoza's miracle continues and so does Sporting's: Zaragoza beat Athletic 2-0 and have now won five of eight; Sporting Gijón, virtually down a month ago, defeated Espanyol 3-0 and have now won three of four. Every week, they are on the edge of the abyss; every week, they climb a little closer to safety, but not quite close enough. Not least because the teams above them slip towards them. Identifying teams who could go down carries a flaw: there are more than three of them. Financial crisis and institutional chaos should be an indicator but for the fact that it is not as much of a differentiator as it should be.
Villarreal have led each of the last three matches but drawn them all and have now won just one in six; Granada have won only one in five. Sporting and Zaragoza both have 34 points, Villarreal have 38, Granada 39. Zaragoza have two home games in a row: Levante and Racing. They finish the season at Getafe, who are likely to have nothing to play for. As for Sporting, their last two matches are Betis at home and Málaga away. Before that on Wednesday is a huge match, one that will go a long way to defining the final two weeks and the final league table: Villarreal travel to Sporting. They then have to play Valencia at home and Atlético away. As for Granada, unexpectedly close to trouble, they face Espanyol, followed by Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano.
So what? Here's what: no one has slipped like Rayo Vallecano. Four games ago, they beat Osasuna 6-0. They were up to 40 points with seven weeks to spare; they were safe. In fact, there was even talk of a European place; between weeks 21 and 28 they had won six in eight and one of those defeats was against Real Madrid – a defeat they didn't deserve. They were bold, daring. They went for teams. Their coach José Ramón Sandoval turned all torero to insist that there were two ways to leave a stadium: through the main gate, a hero hoisted upon shoulders, or through the door to the infirmary. This risk now is that it ends up being the latter. The fear in Vallecas was palpable on Sunday night; players admitted that they are acojonado, a testicular term for terrified.
Rayo are still six points from the relegation zone and need a solitary win. They might not even need that win: there are still four other clubs below them fighting over two places. But they have won just one of the last eight and go away to Mallorca and Sevilla, before facing Granada on the final day.
There is a case to be made for arguing that their early season results were not normal, that their president was right when he insisted on Sunday night that had they been offered 40 points with three games to go at the start of the season they would have said yes immediately. There is something to be said for saying that these results now are normal. "You can't win a war with water pistols," Sandoval said.
Even by La Liga's standards, Rayo's financial and institutional crisis is acute. On the day they defeated Osasuna they had gone on what Sandoval described as a Japanese strike. The club's administrators had insisted that he repay a bonus earned for last year's presentation. This week, the administrators demanded that the players pay it back too. The Barcelona game was also declared día del club – the ultimate in stupid cynicism, where even season ticket holders have to pay for their seat – so fans responded by turning up and paying in small change, carrying heavy bags of shrapnel to the ticket office. On Sunday night they vacated their places and held a banner across the empty seats asking: "Is this what you want the stands to look like?" Underneath another banner aimed at the president declared: "20 Euros is what your mother costs."
Before all that, there was a banner that declared: "We crap on this crappy league." It is a crappy league to which they cling. Rayo Vallecano and Real Madrid inhabit different ends of Madrid; they inhabit different worlds too. Both must wait. Madrid await their fiesta; like Granada, Villarreal, Sporting and Zaragoza, Rayo await their fate.
* Confused? Yes, so are they. Week one was cancelled because of the players' strike and crowbarred in where week 20 would be, with week 20 being squeezed in between weeks 35 and 37.
Results: Getafe 1-3 Mallorca, Levante 3-1 Granada, Espanyol 0-3 Sporting, Real Sociedad 3-0 Racing, Villarreal 1-1 Osasuna, Real Madrid 3-0 Sevilla, Zaragoza 1-0 Valencia, Betis 2-2 Atlético, Rayo 0-7 Barcelona.
• Latest La Liga standings Read More [category Sport][tags La Liga, Real Madrid, Rayo Vallecano, European football, Football, Sport]
End of FDIC program may hurt small firm lending
Read More[category Money]
Rangers complain to police over racial abuse against Kyle Bartley
• Rangers defender said to have received abuse on Twitter
• SPL clubs delay talks over financial fair play proposals
Rangers have complained to police over claims that defender Kyle Bartley was racially abused on a social networking site.
The Glasgow club said on its official Twitter account on Sunday: "The club has tonight been made aware of racial abuse directed at one of our players. We have reported this matter to the police." It is understood the abuse was directed at Bartley, 20, over Twitter.
A Strathclyde Police spokeswoman said: "We can confirm we have received a complaint and inquiries are ongoing."
The alleged incident came hours after Rangers were defeated 3-0 by Celtic in the last Old Firm game of the season. Police said 17 people were arrested in and around Parkhead for offences such as breach of the peace and drunk and disorderly behaviour.
In January, a 41-year-old man was arrested for allegedly posting racist tweets to Bartley, who is on loan from Arsenal, and his Rangers team-mate, the midfielder Maurice Edu.
Meanwhile, all 12 Scottish Premier League clubs have agreed to postpone talks over financial fair play proposals until next Monday.
Discussions over whether to introduce tough new rules for clubs who go into administration or face the prospect of liquidation were set to take place at a general meeting at Hampden this week. However, at a time when administration-hit Rangers are attempting to find a new buyer, the top-flight clubs unanimously agreed to delay talks until 7 May.
"At today's general meeting of SPL clubs, discussions on financial fair play proposals were adjourned until Monday 7 May," confirmed the SPL in a statement. "A number of other proposals to amend rules of the SPL were approved. SPL rules regarding financial disclosure requirements have been strengthened to include the requirement that clubs have no outstanding sums due to other SPL clubs as of 31 December in any year.
"From next season, pitch protection rules will be introduced to minimise the risk of damage to pitches during pre-match warm-ups, along with media co-operation rules to ensure clubs co-operate with SPL broadcast partners." Read More [category Sport][tags Rangers, Scottish Premier League, Football, Sport]
Coyle hopes Muamba can be at Bolton v Tottenham
• Sides meet at Reebok Stadium on Wednesday evening
• 'It would give him a chance to thank both sets of fans'
Owen Coyle, the Bolton manager, feels Wednesday's Premier League game against Tottenham could present a "wonderful opportunity" for Fabrice Muamba to thank fans and players from both clubs for their support following his cardiac arrest last month.
Since he collapsed on the pitch during an FA Cup tie against Spurs at White Hart Lane on 17 March – after which his heart stopped beating naturally for 78 minutes – Muamba has made a remarkable recovery, and he was discharged from hospital two weeks ago.
On Saturday, the 24-year-old former England Under-21 midfielder took to his Twitter account for the first time since the incident, posting a message to thank people for their "prayers, love and support" and wishing his team-mates well ahead of their match at Sunderland that afternoon, which they drew 2-2.
Next up for Bolton is Wednesday's game, which Coyle, particularly given the opposition, would be delighted to see Muamba come along to watch from the stands at the Reebok Stadium – although he has stressed the decision ultimately lies with the player, his family and his doctors.
"We have always said that before the end of the season, we would love it if Fabrice was fit and available to come to a game," Coyle said. "We have to remember after everything he has been through, it has to be the right thing for him, his family and the medical team.
"But it is an open invitation, and if Fabrice is fit and well for that then I think the game against Tottenham would be a great opportunity, because of the events that took place at White Hart Lane.
"It would give a chance for everybody to see how well he is doing and from his end, it would also give him a chance to thank both sets of fans, who were magnificent on the night, and the Tottenham players, because the concern they showed for Fabrice that night was remarkable. If it came about, I think it would be a wonderful opportunity.
"If the family and Fabrice think it is something he would like to do, he would be welcomed with open arms." Read More [category Sport][tags Fabrice Muamba, Bolton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur, Football, Sport]
West Bromwich want Chris Hughton to replace Roy Hodgson – reports
• Club expect Hodgson to become England manager shortly
• Hughton has led Birmingham to Championship play-offs
West Bromwich Albion will target Chris Hughton as a replacement for Roy Hodgson should he, as expected, become the England manager in the next 48 hours, it is has been claimed by the Press Association.
Hughton came close to replacing Roberto Di Matteo at the Hawthorns 15 months ago after being sacked by Newcastle United and was interviewed for the post before Hodgson was chosen.
He has further enhanced his reputation since taking charge of Birmingham last summer. Despite losing most of last season's relegated squad, Hughton guided the Midlands club to fourth in the Championship and, on Friday, they will travel to Blackpool for the first leg of their play-off semi-final.
Compensation would be an issue and Birmingham will be keen to hold on to Hughton after Alex McLeish left last summer to join Aston Villa.
It is believed West Bromwich are also considering their former coach Michael Appleton – now manager at Portsmouth – and the Bristol City manager and former Albion midfielder, Derek McInnes.
Alan Curbishley, who rejected the chance to take over at Wolves in February, Cardiff's Malky Mackay and Charlton's Chris Powell are also potential candidates. Read More [category Sport][tags Roy Hodgson, England, West Bromwich Albion, Birmingham City, Football, Sport]
In pictures: classic Manchester derbies
We've trawled through the archives to bring you some classics from the 161 games between the two
Read More [category Sport][tags Premier League 2011-12, Premier League, Manchester City, Manchester United, Football, Sport]
Podolski move to Arsenal confirmed
• Podolski had one year left on contract with Bundesliga club
• 'Köln is in my heart but this is a great opportunity'
Lukas Podolski has agreed to join Arsenal for the start of the 2012-13 season, leaving FC Köln with one year remaining on his contract.
The Germany international, who has been linked with a move to north London for several months and joins for an undisclosed fee, said: "The move to Arsenal provides a great opportunity for me to gain experience in international competitions at a top European club.
"I have made this decision not against FC Köln but for this great opportunity and the good of my own individual development. This was not an easy decision for me at all, as Köln, our fans and the city are something special for me. I will always carry FC Köln in my heart. We need to pool our strengths now and have to be fully focused on our survival in the Bundesliga."
Claus Horstmann, the German club's executive board chairman, said: "Lukas Podolski is a player of world class standing with a special relation to FC Köln's fans and to the city. We are proud of the development Lukas Podolski has taken at the club within the last years. From his early days at our youth squads, via his first competitive match for our professional team, through to a highly renowned Germany international.
That's why we deeply regret his step, which is not a decision against FC but for the good of his own career. FC Köln were prepared to extend Lukas Podolski's contract on the basis of a competitive offer. Nonetheless, this early transfer decision offers scope and planning security for the next season. We will jump at this opportunity to reinvest these transfer earnings back into our team's quality and into the promotion of our youth squads.
Podolski joined Köln at the age of 10 and scored 10 goals in 19 Bundesliga matches in his first season (2003-04). He has played 95 times and scored 43 goals for Germany. Read More [category Sport][tags Arsenal, Football, Sport, Köln, European football]
Itsy-bitsy teeny cell towers are coming
Read More[category Money]
U.S. spending slows, while income rises
Read More[category Money]
Van der Sar: Ferguson will diminish City
Read More[category Sport]
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Chelsea, Bayern eye overturning bans - Di Matteo
Rangers focus on Old Firm, not crisis
Henry scores winner, then gets hurt for Red Bulls
Levante keep up Champions League push
Southampton's Adkins savours taste of success
Davies hopes for Muamba lift against Spurs
Forget Barca and focus on Premier League: Di Matteo
Redknapp hits back at Corluka claims
Spurs back in fourth as Rovers eye drop
Rampant Chelsea hit QPR for six
Celtic loss adds to Rangers woes
Tottenham 2-0 Blackburn: Match Report
O'Neill glad to be out of drop scrap
City not nervous, says Mancini
Chelsea 6-1 QPR: Match Report
Celtic rub salt into Rangers wounds
Rodgers rues Swans slip-ups
Fair reward at last for Dalglish
Wenger wants action over Stoke chants
Mancini wants Tevez to maintain momentum
Adkins to savour Saints promotion
Torres star as Chelsea hit QPR for six
Play-acting is in fashion - Derry
Terry apologises for red card
State media: Egyptian military council will form new government
Read More[category World]
Real Madrid 3-0 Sevilla
Karim Benzema scored two second-half goals as the Spanish leaders Real Madrid closed in on their first league title in four years by strolling to a 3-0 victory over Sevilla.
The France striker struck twice in quick succession early in the second half as Madrid bounced back from their Champions League semi‑final exit to Bayern Munich.
Madrid moved 10 points clear of Barcelona, who must win at Rayo Vallecano later on Sunday to keep their slim chances of a fourth successive league trophy.
Cristiano Ronaldo extended his league record goal total to 43 with a first-half opener that was the Portugal forward's 57th goal of the season.
Madrid showed no side effects from their disappointing European defeat on Wednesday when Ronaldo and Kaka both failed to score penalties in Madrid's bid for a first Champions League final appearance in 10 years.
Madrid could be celebrating their record 32nd league trophy if Barcelona fail to win at the Vallecas Stadium, in the first game since the head coach, Pep Guardiola, announced he was leaving at the end of the season with assistant Tito Vilanova his replacement.
"This is good for us, it was a very important game for us as we continue on looking to be champions," Benzema told Canal Plus TV as Madrid reached 91 points to Barcelona's 81. "The Champions League is in the past, we only care about the league now."
Benzema set up Ronaldo's 19th-minute opener as he rolled a short pass into his team-mate's path and the Portugal forward cut back to shake his marker and slot home a low shot inside the opposite corner.
Benzema then tested Javi Varas, who had denied Marcelo from a tight angle, before watching the post stop Ronaldo's free‑kick from next to the penalty spot in the 36th.
Benzema atoned for a pair of first-half misses in the 48th minute when he redirected Angel di Maria's skipping cross into the area past Varas. Four minutes later, Varas could only watch Benzema's powerful header from a Sergio Ramos cross fly past him into the top of the goal.
It was the Frenchman's 20th league goal and 31st in all competitions, making this his best season at Madrid.
The Madrid goalkeeper, Iker Casillas, was rarely tested aside from Alvaro Negredo's weak effort moments before Benzema's first goal.
Madrid extended their league record goal tally to 112 goals with three games remaining. "The sooner [we win the league], the better," Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka said. Read More [category Sport][tags La Liga, Real Madrid, Sevilla, European football, Football, Sport]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)