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Why Sohail Abbas is
still so important for Pakistan hockey The
new COO of the PCB PCB: A
story of shambles, accusations and mistrust? Europe's finest aim for destination Madrid European powerhouses are back in the hunt for glory as they battle it out to reach the Santiago Bernabeau stadium on the 22nd of May 2010 for the Champions League final -- the first to be staged on a Saturday with UEFA aiming for greater viewership -- as the UEFA Champions League group stage kicks off this week. 'Lightning Bolt' lights up Berlin Just like his name, Usain Bolt turned the screws on other athletes in track and field and with his 'Lightning Bolt' poses, play-acting for the cameras and care-free attitude, he delighted fans all over the world, but he is very serious when it comes to sprinting.Bolt dominated the World Athletics Championships just as he did at the Beijing Olympics, shattering the world records for the 100m and 200m, while Jamaica won the 4x100m relay to complete his hat-trick of gold medals. He was the cutting edge of another terrific Jamaican sprinting display. By Abdul Ahad Farshori Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) -- the crown jewel of the Pakistan Football Federation calendar -- exploded into action on July 25, with WAPDA, who are looking for the third straight title, favorites to hold on to the silver ware.
Why Sohail Abbas is still so important for Pakistan hockey
By Khalid Hussain It was after the 2006 World Cup in Germany that the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) decided to discard Sohail Abbas -- the world's most prolific goal scorer, who was still in his twenties and playing the best hockey of his career. At that time, even Sohail's most die-hard wouldn't
have thought that Pakistan would be looking towards him as a possible
saviour ahead of the qualification stage for the 2010 World Cup to be
played in New Delhi. But it's true, whether the country's hockey bosses like it or not. Such is the team lineup for the World Cup Qualifiers in Lille (France) that Pakistan should make the cut for the quadrennial spectacle penciled in from February 28 to March 13 in the Indian capital even without Sohail's goal-scoring prowess. But to have any hopes of reaching the podium in New Delhi, the Greenshirts will need their drag flick expert to convert short corners every now and then, especially against the big guns like defending champions Germany, Australia, Netherlands or Spain. Nobody is saying that a solo show from Sohail will enable Pakistan to win a record-improving fifth world title but it can bring them in the hunt to do so. For years, Pakistan's hockey officials have denied the fact that Sohail Abbas is the only true match winner the country has produced since the legendary Shahbaz Ahmed -- the hero of the country's 1994 World Cup triumph in Sydney. "He (Sohail) is such a bad defender," is what most of the national coaches under whom Sohail went on to become the best goal scorer in the history of the sport, would have to say about their most valuable player. The current Pakistan team management is a bit more appreciative but will only praise Sohail in a guarded manner. "He is certainly a key player but we have several others who are equally important for the team," Shahid Ali Khan, the Pakistan coach, told 'The News on Sunday' in an interview. Sohail made a comeback at the Asia Cup this summer after a long break and couldn't impress much. Some of his critics started saying that the player is history now and Pakistan should look for other short corner specialists. However, the national team officials have kept faith in him and are hoping that he would deliver during the World Cup Qualifiers to be played from October 31 to November 8. "All he (Sohail) needs is confidence," said Shahid, a former Olympian. "Once he scores around eight to ten goals, I'm sure he would be back in business." Shahid is confident that Sohail would be the highest scorer in Lille where Pakistan have been bracketed with lower-ranked teams like Japan, hosts France, Russia and Italy. "The power in his flicks is still there," said the Pakistan coach. "He has just played four matches since returning to international hockey and needs some time to regain his rhythm," he stresses. According to Shahid, Pakistan have carried out extensive short corner drills and should give an improved show in the World Cup Qualifiers. Shahid says that the Asia Cup in Malaysia earlier this summer, Sohail played well as a defender. "All Sohail needs now is to start scoring the goals again." Asif Bajwa, the Pakistan team manager, agrees with the coach. "Now is the time for Sohail to prove his worth," says Bajwa, who is also the secretary of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF). "The Qualifying Rounds is a perfect platform for Sohail and we believe that he would do well in France," he adds. Bajwa underlines the fact that Sohail will get eight low-pressure 'Test' matches in Europe ahead of the Qualifiers to regain his form. "We have a series of matches against France, Poland and Belgium and I'm sure, Sohail will get enough time to find his lost form. Bajwa believes that Sohail will perform his role and help Pakistan make the cut for the 2010 World Cup. "And not just that, I think Sohail will also help us do well in the World Cup next year." The team manager is of the view that the entire nation will be disappointed if Sohail failed to deliver this time. "The expectations are really high and Sohail is certainly aware of it. I think the entire nation will be left disappointed if he doesn't score the goals needed by Pakistan." At this point in time, Pakistan are yet to even qualify for the World Cup -- an event they have won on a record four occasions. Even if they qualify, nobody counts them among the title favourites. But Shahid believes that any thing can happen, if Sohail rediscovers his magical touch. "If Sohail clicks, Pakistan can go really far in the World Cup." Sohail, meanwhile, is just focusing on the task at hand. He is trying to get as fit and possible and wants to be in his best form ahead of the Qualifiers. His critics may be calling for his retirement but Sohail says that he is still looking forward to extending his illustrious international career during which he has already scored more than 280 goals. "The day I realise that I'm not good enough to play international hockey, I'll retire," he says. "I will just want a new boy to take my place in the team." Pakistan have included a few rookies in recent months but decided to stick mostly with tried and tested players for the tour of Europe and the World Cup Qualifiers. The top-seeded have been drawn against Japan and hosts France in Qualifiers. Japan are Pakistan's top rivals in the World Cup Qualifiers with France, Poland, Russia and Italy (reserve team) being the other participants in the event. Pakistan's training squad has been preparing for the World Cup Qualifiers since last month and will fly out for a 15-day tour of Europe on September 24 to play a series of matches against France, Poland and Belgium. They are the most successful nation in World Cup history but will have to miss out on the event for the first time next year if they fail to win the qualifying round in Lille. The Greenshirts, who are currently placed at number seven in the world, are the highest ranked team yet to make the cut for the World Cup. They are seeded to confirm a World Cup berth in Lille where other competing teams -- Japan (14), France (17), Poland (22), Russia (23) and Italy (26) -- are placed much below them in the world rankings. Pakistan are seeded to meet Japan in the final on November 8. Japan have been struggling for form in recent times and finished sixth in the Asia Cup in Malaysia this May after a 5-1 hammering at the hands of India in the playoff for the fifth position. Pakistan, in contrast, lost narrowly to Korea in the Asia Cup final. The Lille Qualifiers is the first of three such events being staged by the FIH later this year. The second round will be played at Invercargill, New Zealand from November 7-15. The participating teams are hosts New Zealand (8), China (13), Malaysia (16), Austria (20), Scotland (24) and Wales (29). The last qualifying event will be played at Quilmes, Argentina from November 14-22. The participating teams are Belgium (9), Argentina (10), Ireland (18), USA (19), Czech Republic (25) and Chile (27). The nine teams already confirmed for the World Cup are India (hosts), Canada (Pan-American champions), Korea (Asian champion), Australia (Oceania champions), South Africa (African champions), England (European champions) and the three other qualifiers for Europe -- Germany, Netherlands and Spain.
By Malik Arshed Gilani p.s.n. There is an old love song that helps me write about the appointment of the new COO of the PCB. He seems to have landed this job accidentally but that is not so, He is a stayer. The song goes ' Let me count the ways…." in which we can best judge the benefits of this new appointment; Mr. Wasim Bari worked with our national airline for many years. His illustrious career had hiccups of twice being demoted in his job. Now I suppose that can happen to any one but is not something that could encourage a person looking to appoint him to a trying and testing senior job in the PCB. This does not reflect on his cricket acumen but surely does impact on his managerial skills. Wasim Bari was captain of the Pakistan Team during the Packer era. Many of his team mates and I hope friends joined that merry band and were banned from Pakistan Cricket. I believe he was not asked. This cannot possibly reflect adversely on him. However when the powers that be recalled the Packer players for national service, surprise! Surprise! The captain of the team encouraged the view that the players should go through a trial. If this is not sad enough, even after the trials the players were not selected. For a moment we could consider that this was not the captain's responsibility but let us ask, which captain worth his name would stand for going into to a Test Match leaving the likes of Zaheer Abbas, Imran Khan, Mushtaq Mohammed & Asif Iqbal. Incredibly the story went about that the opposing Captain, Geoffrey Boycott protested. As I know him well, much later on enquiry replied; "What rubbish". Let us now jump forward in time and recount that the worthy gentleman was the Chief Selector for World Cups 2003, 2007, and lately for the team that went to Sri Lanka. I do not wish to reopen old wounds so enough to say that those teams did not excel. He was removed following both occasions. It is interesting to note that on the second occasion, a 3 Member Committee recommended his removal. The Chairman of this Committee was none other than Ijaz Butt. It appears that Bari is being accorded the quality of proverbial good wine that improves with age! Three separate opportunities should really be enough for anybody. But the refrain "I am sorry, I will do better next time, please give me another chance" is in use again. If the above is not enough and I will risk people telling me that I am always negative, I believe the last nail in this saga must be that Bari was the Director Administration during the visit of the Sri Lankan team. This post makes him responsible for organizing the transfer of teams to and from the Stadium. I suppose the Director International Cricket could also be party to this function. The PCB executed an MOU with the Police to fully outline the security of the teams. The Sri Lanka Team was to be provided presidential level security which was actually outlined and described in the MOU. I cannot believe that ensuring the MOU was followed in letter and in spirit would constitute what Bari termed as 'interference' in a TV interview a few days ago. When asked a related question he went on to say and repeat that "the responsibility and fault was of the State". Forgetting the veracity of such a statement, do we think this was a response worthy of a COO of the PCB? The PCB surely was aware of the local political situation. They also had a police warning. I believe it is not unfair to state that by the third day it was obvious that 'presidential security' as detailed in the MOU was not being provided. I say it was the direct responsibility of the PCB's staff who signed the MOU to monitor the security. Counting escorts, counting snipers and security staff at roundabouts cannot require special training or be considered as interference. It was the duty of PCB staff to protest in writing and not permit the team to leave the hotel. The cricket world does not have short memories; the ICC Referee must know all this, and thus such a COO cannot create confidence. I see the dailies carrying a rally by the new COO that he is active in bringing back international cricket to Pakistan. I wish him every success for the good of our Country and our cricket team. Should he be successful I shall publicly offer him an apology for this article. I end though with one thought: The Chairman of PCB is on record of having stated that the BCCI actively worked against PCB interests for the next World Cup. What brilliant peace of diplomacy has changed that? Mr.Sharad Pawar is no longer in charge of the BCCI. He speaks for the ICC and not the BCCI. He has much influence but until some major event takes place to prove otherwise, this is just another spin!
PCB: A story of shambles, accusations and mistrust?
By Dr. Nauman Niaz Pakistan cricket needs to change in order to be a relevant part of modern sport. This should have been achieved in a more palatable and less bloody methods, though it could take much longer and being less direct in effect. Cricket has been temporising for some time; it has
already erupted proving to the administrators that the structure is
inadequate, especially the workings at the PCB where conservatism has
ignored competence and ability, and promoting nepotism and individual
like-minded groups. PCB has failed to come up as an enterprise since they have been acting as a monopoly controlling cricket in the country. Monopolies are not always bad, but when they are conservative, reactionary and inbred they could become self-perpetuating and introverted. It's exactly what has happened to the Butt-Bari-Naeem nexus. The Ijaz Butt regime, so far has been desperate, unpromising and oblivious as they have reacted and over-reacted in the face of facts. Foolhardiness is distinct from irrationality. I must use it for the top-tier of the PCB as a pejorative and with all the negative connotations. PCB's Media Manager articulated that my previous article carried a one-sided story. I tend to agree with him, since there hasn't been any other side of the PCB. In an ineffectual rejoinder, the PCB admits: 'The author writes that PCB has decided to meekly withdraw the case they intended to file in the International Court of Arbitration (CAS). Sadly the writer is grossly misled as the rules of the business require PCB to refer the matter to the jurisdiction of a Disputes Resolution Committee and not CAS'. As details are, ostensibly, Michael Beloff, is the Chairman of the Conduct Commission. Mr. Beloff is a blue blooded Russian whose father had been on the teaching faculty of the Oxford University. It is known that once PCB had decided to take the case of shifting of World Cup 2011 matches to the CAS, they were categorically told that they had to go to the Dispute Resolution Committee. Apparently PCB had upheld that since Mr. Beloff was the appointee of the ICC so they intended to go to the CAS to avoid partiality. ICC didn't agree, as they shouldn't have. PCB were firmly informed they had to attend to the DRC under Mr. Beloff but what they could do was to get two arbitrators of their choice appointed. As it is, CAS has a list of a gamut of arbitrators and PCB were asked to choose from them. Then there was an ICC Communicate conveying to the PCB if the dispute over shifting of matches continued it could lead to the termination of the 'Host Agreement' and PCB could lose the hosting fees (about which now the reddened and bloated PCB top-tier is boasting) and other revenues. They needed to solve the dispute. Instead of taking the credit Mr. Butt should have had the doggedness to say that the decision was rightfully imposed on him by the ICC. ICC entered into settlement and didn't pursue the matter and claimed damages because they had the legal coverage and they knew from the very start that PCB was just having blurred images of grandiosity and sooner or later, they had to return to sanity. Evidently, in Paragraph 4.6 of the pertaining document David Morgan had informed that the ICC would charge PCB for the legal cost incurred during this battle. Grippingly, instead of being intolerant to what is being prudently written they should accept their failings. The PCB went to the DRC because they were sternly warned by the ICC. And as it could happen, PCB were the signatories of the 'Host Agreement' in which it had clearly been mentioned that ICC Development International (IDI) was the competent authority taking the matches away from the host on security grounds and that it was irrevocable and a binding. There had to be no further discussion. When the Executive Board of the ICC took the decision on April 17th, 2009 it was ratified by the IDI the next day and Mr. Butt had inexpertly refrained from voting instead of vetoing the decision. It told the sorry state of an elderly gentleman wholly mystified. Furthermore, on April 21st 2009, the ICC addressed the Members of the Board of Governors and the PCB officials on the 'Functioning of the ICC', and at that juncture, as reported, dense and oblivious Mr. Butt had handed over a letter to David Morgan stating that the Chief Executive Officer of the ICC, Mr. Haroon Logart was influencing the members to take matches away from Pakistan; the charges were obviously unsubstantiated and it effectively irked world cricket's governing body. And Haroon Logart in his address had said that PCB had quarreled without giving a viable alternative or a contingency plan and also it was dismaying that being the full member of the ICC they were trying to drag their parent body to the court. It was surely an inexcusable attempt by the Chairman of the PCB. Here someone proficient in dialogue and diplomacy was required to convince the ICC or plead the case rationally, intelligently and diligently. PCB tried proving that I was oblivious of the term 'home' series being played on a 'neutral' venue. As history beckons, the first 'neutral' series was played in England in 1911-12 when South Africa was the third team joining Australia to compete in a triangular 'Test' tournament equally dampened by rain and wet English weather. At any time, I didn't try confusing the 'home' series being played on a 'neutral' venue and I had no objection whatsoever. It was about mentioning that 50% of the total revenue of the 'home' series was being shared by the PCB with the 'neutral' boards; Questionable still? PCB also tried registering that the series between Australia & Pakistan had earned huge profits. Belying veracity is not ideally moral. The television rights of the series, with the PCB and TENSPORTS in contract was agreed for US$3.5m. Fifty percent of the contractual remuneration, as accounted, had to be received before the start and the rest by the end of the series; would PCB's 'financial goliath' like to confirm with evidence that the money has already been received. And it's a request to Mr. Mohammad Naeem, to tenaciously make public the profit and loss statement of the series in contention? Would the PCB like to dilate upon clauses 7, 8, 11, 26, 27, 32 and 33 of the MoU according to which, seemingly, they were virtually fleeced by the 'neutral' hosts ravishing the presence of our cricket board's major product, the TEAM PAKISTAN? And with regards to their allegations regarding I being a contortionist, the PCB wanted to muster public support through media; Mr. Ijaz Butt arranged my travel to Lahore and made me attend the press conference. The pictures were flashed globally when I attended the press conference sitting next to the Chairman PCB. There were surely talks about trying to garner international support in PCB's resolve to get the World Cup matches back to Pakistan by taking ICC to the CAS. A financial proposal was integrated considering the costs expected to incur by seeking airtime from various local channels and also to get write-ups on several international and domestic newspapers. I was politely asked to submit a proposal to Mr. Mohammad Naeem, 'The Goliath'. Mr. Butt personally requested me to attend to another meeting along with Masood Hasan, another spectacular writer in the next couple of days. Due to professional commitments I wasn't able to air-dash to Lahore though the minutes were readily shared with me by Mr. Salim Altaf, the then Chief Operating Officer. A proposal was dispatched to Mr. Naeem in writing as desired by the Chairman PCB. Naively, Mr. Naeem expected the campaign to kick-off without looking into the financial aspects; nothing is free in this world. No one is a mercenary. Nonetheless, it could only be done by Chairman PCB's 'supernatural' brother-in-law, who tenaciously had bartered Pakistan-Australia series radio rights; only he could do it. Professionals didn't work using such tools. Situation was absolutely bewildering, the PCB didn't really need any public support; they were their own banners of 'negative' publicity.
Europe's finest aim for destination Madrid By Umaid Wasim European powerhouses are back in the hunt for glory as they battle it out to reach the Santiago Bernabeau stadium on the 22nd of May 2010 for the Champions League final -- the first to be staged on a Saturday with UEFA aiming for greater viewership -- as the UEFA Champions League group stage kicks off this week. With Real Madrid's stadium selected as the venue for
the final, the Merengues' ultimate aspiration would be to win an
unprecedented 10th titlein front of their rapturous fans at their 70,000
capacity arena. The summer that has gone by has given some clues with Real certainly looking in the mood to achieve continental glory. THe return of Fiorentino Perez as club president has seen the club spend in excess of 250m euros on new players including Kaka from AC Milan, Karim Benzema from Lyon, Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa from Liverpool, Raul Albiol from Valencia and 2008 Player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo for a world record 94m euros. Perez would be demanding an immediate return on his investment which would bring back memories of 2002 when the Spanish Construction tycoon broke the bank for French midfield maestro Zinedine Zidane. Signed from Juventus for then a world record 67m euros, Zizou scored with a magical strike -- regarded as possibly the best ever in the history of the competition -- as Real beat Bayer Leverkusen in the final at Hampden Park. Real have not progressed past the round of 16 in each of the last three seasons and new coach Manuel Pellegrini would know that failure this time around will have serious consequences. Real have been drawn in gorup C alonside 2007 champions AC Milan, French giants Marsielle and Swiss champions FC Zurich. Milan are back in the Champions League after a one year hiatus with a number of new faces. Brazilian Leonardo won the Champions League with Milan as a player in 2003 and would be aiming to do exactly that as manager after Carlo Ancelotti left for Chelsea in the summer. A summer of change has also seen legendary defender Paolo Maldini retiring and Kaka joining group rivals Real Madrid. Milan would hope that their favourite son does not come back to haunt them. Milan have brought in USA defender Oguchi Onyewu from Standard Liege and Dutch marksman Klaas Jan Huntelaar from Real Madrid -- one of three dutchmen to leave the new Los Galacticos during the summer. Didier Deschamps appointment as Marseille manager has seen a flurry of transfer activity at the French outfit.Of their nine signings, the transfer of Eduoard Cisse from Besiktas, Gabriel Heinze from Real Madrid, Lucho Gonzalez from Porto and Fernando Morientes from Valencia stand out. Morientes, incidentally, won three Chapions League medals with Real in 1998, 2000 and 2002 and both he and Deschamps were instrumental as Real were knocked out of the quarterfinals in 2004. Deschamps, then coach of AS Monaco, masterminded a remarkable victory enroute to the final with Morientes -- on loan from Real -- scored the decisive goal. Group C's final team are FC Zurich are one of eight Champions League debutants this season. In an interesting group, Real Madrid would be favourites to win the group as they embark on their mission to accomplish what arch-rivals Barcelona did last season. If there was one word to describe Barcelona last season, that was 'brilliant'. After beating Arsenal at the Parc des Princes in Paris in the 2006 final, the Blaugurana beat Londoners' arch-rivals Manchester United at Rome's Olympic Stadium for a second title in four years and gave Pep Guardiola a maiden Champions League medal in his debut season. Barcelona have signed defenders Dmitro Chngryngsky and Maxwell from Shakhtar Donetsk and Inter milan respectively to strengthen their defence. The Catalans' biggest acquisition, however, was Inter's Zlatan Ibrahimovic in a swap deal involving Samuel Etoo. With both Inter Milan and Barcelona drawn together in group F, both players would face the prospect of playing against their former clubs very soon in two group stages matches that Ibrahimovic insisted is not 'Etoo vs Ibrahimovic'. Inter have signed Diego Milito and Thiago Motta from Genoa, Lucio from Bayern Munich and Wesley Sniejder -- another of the dutch contingent sold by Real. Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kiev and Russian title-holders join the La Liga and Serie A winners in the 'group of champions'. The return of former striker Andriy Shevchenko after a decade has certainly boosted the Kiev side while Rubin make their group stage debut this season. The pressure would be on Inter Milan who have been dismal in Europe's premier competition over the last three years -- getting knocked out at the round of 16 each time. The Nerazurri have added pressure on the domestic front where they are facing a strong Juventus side in the race for the title. Juventus face old foes Bayern Munich in group A which also has French Champions Bordeux and Israeli league winners Maccabi Haifa. It would be a sense of deja vu for both Italy's and Germany's most successful clubs as both Juve and Bayern were drawn together in the group stages in both the 2005 and 2006 event. In the four meetings that ensued between them, the Bianconeri were victorious in three while Bayern could only manage a single win. Juventus coach Ciro Ferrara has said that conquering Europe is the clubs' main aim. THe man who made it to three consecutive CHampions League finals as a player from 1996 to 1998 -- winning one in 1996 -- with the Turin giants aims to deliver the European cup in his very first managerial season after having drawn comparisions with Barca gaffer Pep Guardiola. Juve defender Nicola Legrottaglie reckons Ferrara as 'Italy's answer to Guardiola' and the man may well emulate the latter after a number of astute buys during the close season. The Old Lady's new signings, Brazilian midfielders Diego and Felipe Melo and Italian defenders Fabio Cannavaro and Fabio Grosso would be hoping that Juve better last year's performance when they were knocked out in the Round of 16. Bayern too have a new coach at the helm in Dutch tactician Luis Van Gaal and would be looking for a massive improvement from last season where they were mauled 5-1 on aggregate by eventual champions Barcelona in the quarter-finals. Bayern held on to French attacker Franck Ribery in spite of massive interest from the moneybags in Madrid and managed to snare Dutch winger Arjen Robben from Real as their mass exodus continued. Germany striker Mario Gomez has joined the Bavarian giants from Stuttgart along with Zenit St Pertersburg midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshuck, however, Lucio's departure has made them vulnerable at the back. Bordeux would be looking to exploit Bayern's frailties at the back. Having ended Lyon's eight year stranglehold on the French Ligue 1, Laurent Blanc's side have signed Yohan Gourcuff from AC Milan permanently and convinced Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh to stay and would be looking to progress from the group. Maccabi Haifa are the outsiders in the group. It is the Israeli team's second ever group stage appearance. Fiorentina complete the Italian quartet and have been drawn in group E with 2005 champions Liverpool, French big guns Lyon and Hungarian champions Debrecen. Fiorentina qualified for the event from the 'non-champions path' after beating Sporting Lisbon over two legs as Champions League format was altered to allow clubs from lesser European countries to come to the fore. Cesar Prandelli's side would be looking towards Captain Adrian Mutu to provide them the inspiration upfront as they seek qualification to the next stage. Lyon had first the shock of getting desposed as champions in France and then captain Juninho left for Qatar. When Benzema left for Madrid, the French side looked a little light-weight but the signings of Lisandro Lopez -- inspirational in his side's group stage qualification -- and Aly Sissokho from Porto has made them black horses in the group. Debrecen are also amongst the new entrants to the group stage. The Hungarian champions have a tough group and Liverpool would be aiming to win the group to get an easier draw in the next stage. In the hardest group for any of the four English entrants, Liverpool's recent performances in the competition have been fantastic. A fantastic victory against AC Milan at Istanbul in 2005 was followed by another final appearance in 2007 where they lost to Milan and a semifinal appearance in 2008 before losing to EPL rivals Chelsea in the quarter-finals last season. England international Glen Johnson has signed from Portsmouth while Alberto Aquilani has been brought as a replacement for Xabi Alonso from Roma. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has been the inspiration behind the clubs' success in recent years and with Jaime Carragher and Fernando Torres, would be looking to fire the Reds to glory once again. Liverpool's EPL rivals Manchester United are the top seeds in group B. The Red Devils have been in each of the last two Champions League finals, being crowned European Champions in 2008. For Manchester United, the worrying factor would be that now they have no Cristiano Ronaldo. The man whose performances lit up European football's biggest stage joined Real Madrid in the summer, leaving Sir Alex Ferguson to do with Wigan's Antonio Valencia -- the man brought in to replace the 2008 world player of the year. Michael Owen would be back in the Champions League after joining the English champions on a free transfer as Ferguson wanted a replacement for Carlos Tevez who moved to city rivals Manchester City. The club would be counting on their rich history and experience of their veteran players in Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville along with the youthful charisma of Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Nani as they would be going all out to win the competion Sir Alex Ferguson describes as 'the biggest ever in the world'. JOining Manchester United in the group are 2005 UEFA CUp winners CSKA Moscow, Turkish Champions Besiktas and surprise Bundesliga winners Wolfsburg. CSKA Moscow were the first Russian club to win a European trophy when they took the UEFA Cup in 2005. That team that made history, however, has since disbanded. Brazilian striker Vagner Love -- last season's UEFA Cup top-scorer -- left the club to join Palmeiras on loan. Striker Ivica Olic now plays for Bayern Munich while left winger Yuri Zhirkov left for Chelsea during the summer. Brazilan midfielder Daniel Carvalho and Chilean ex-Liverpool winger Dainel Carvalho would look to provide the ammunition for the Moscow club. When Besiltas won the Turkish title in May, it was beyond belief for many that neither of the Istanbul giants Fenerbahce or Galatasaray could even come close to the eventual champions. However, the club are back into the Champions League after a five year absence. The club famously beat Chelsea 2-0 the last time they were around in 2004 and would be looking to upset a few here as well. Wolfsburg were an even bigger surprise package than Besiktas last season. The club were unexpectedly dominant in the German Bundesliga as they won their first ever title. Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko attracted a host of top European clubs during the summer including Arsenal and AC Milan but the Wolves hung on to him. Brazilian Grafite would be supporting Dzeko along with ex-Inter Milan striker Obafemi Martins -- the Nigerian comes back into the Champios League after a four year hiatus with Newcastle United. Midfielders Thomas Kahlenberg and Karim Ziani have joined from Auxerre and Marsielle respectively while 2006 WOrld Cup winner Andrea Barzagli would be expected to carry on his rich vain of form in the back-line. 2008 finalsts Chelsea are in group D with Atletico Madrid, FC Porto and Cyprus' APOEL Nicosia. Chelsea appointed Carlo Ancelotti as coach during the summer and would be hoping that the Italian can help them go an extra step further. Ancelotti guided Milan to Champions League glory and inherits a side that reached the semifinals in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009 while they were also beaten finalists in 2008. Ancelotti has brought in Yuri Zhirkov from CSKA and England U21 striker Daniel Sturridge joined from Manchester City. Chelsea are favourites for the group but their toughest challenge can come from Atletico Madrid. This would be the Spanish clubs' second consecutive Champions League season. A strike force that has Sergio Aguero and Diego forlan along with Simao and Maxi Rodriguez supporting from the flanks makes them a dangerous proposition. The club went out unbeaten in last year's event as Porto beat them on away goals in the Round of 16. Porto and Atletico square of once again this year, however, they are a shadow of a side that gave finalists Manchester United a real scare in the last eight after drawing the first leg 2-2 at Old Trafford. A superb strike from Ronaldo secured the Red Devils' passage to the semis but the 2004 champions have sold Lisandro Lopez and Aly Sissokho to Lyon while captain Lucho has joined Marsielle. Qualification would be a tall order for the Portugese champions. APOEL are another of the eight debutants this season. The Cypriots would be looking at Anorthosis Famagusta's performances last season after they became the first ever group stage qualifiers from Cyprus. Arsenal qualified for the Champions League group stage after victory over Celtic in the qualifiying playoff and have the easiest of draws of the English sides. The Londoners have been drawn in group H with Greek champions Olympiakos, Eredivisie winners AZ Alkmaar and Belgian title-holders Standard Liege. Arsenal lost Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure to Manchester City in the summer but in Andrei Arshavin they have a real match-winner. The 2008 UEFA Cup winner with Zenit, has Champions Leaue experience and Arsene Wenger would be looking towards the Russian's big-game atitude in the Champions League. Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen joned the 2006 finalists from Ajax. Olympiakos did not feature in last years event as Anorthosis knocked the Greeks out in the third qualifiying round. The club assigned Temuri Ketasbia as coach in the summer -- the man who masterminded the Greeks' elimination last year as coach of Anorthosis. The club signed Juve defender Olof Mellberg and Sevilla midfielder Enzo Maresca while English striker Matt Derbyshire has joined them permanently as they bid to progress from the group. Standard Liege and AZ Alkmaar would probably be fighting for the third spot and an entry into the UEFA Cup. Standard have featured just once before in the Champions League and AZ are debutants with coach Van Gaal, who guided them to the title last season, leaving for Bayern Munich. First-timers Unirea Urziceni of Romania are in group G and have Vfb Stuttgart, Rangers and Sevilla for company. Coached by ex-CHelsea player Dan Petrescu, the club would be looking to enjoy their European honeymoon as the other three are expected to fight for progression. Sevilla won the UEFA Cup in successive seasons in 2006 and 2007 and now would be looking to translate some of that form into the Champions League. Brazil striker Luis Fabiano drew attention of Europe's top clubs but is still with the Spaniards and would be looking to spearhead the club's Champions League campaign. Stuttgart have been in and out of the Champions League over the last few seasons. The Germans come to Europe's top competition after losing top striker Mario Gomez to CHampions League and Bundesliga rivals Bayern but welcome the return of Alexandr Hleb on loan for the season from Barcelona and striker Pavel Pogrebnyak has been signed from Zenit to replace Gomez. Pogrebnyak's Zenit beat Rangers in the UEFA Cup final in 2008 and they are Scotland's sole representatives in the group stage after Celtic's elimination in the play-off. The Scottish Champions have signed French winger Jerome Rothen -- Champions League finalist with Monaco in 2004 -- while captain Barrry Ferguson has left the club. As Europe's finest prepare to do battle to reach Madrid for the final, the glamour and the allure of Europe's top prize would be the driving force for all the clubs participating in Europe's premier competition this season.
'Lightning Bolt' lights up Berlin
By Hasan Junaid Iqbal Just like his name, Usain Bolt turned the screws on other athletes in track and field and with his 'Lightning Bolt' poses, play-acting for the cameras and care-free attitude, he delighted fans all over the world, but he is very serious when it comes to sprinting.Bolt dominated the World Athletics Championships just as he did at the Beijing Olympics, shattering the world records for the 100m and 200m, while Jamaica won the 4x100m relay to complete his hat-trick of gold medals. He was the cutting edge of another terrific Jamaican sprinting display. Bolt repeated his Olympic sprint double at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany -- blitzing to a staggering new world record of 19.19 seconds in the 200m. The new mark bettered his own previous record of 19.30sec set in the 200m final of the Beijing Games last summer. What makes Bolt's performances more enjoyable is that
he achieved them with a smile on his face and without any of the
posturing and trash talk that characterised sprinting in the 1980s and
90s. He is a fan's favourite sprinter, who plays around with good
attitude. Bolt had a blast in Germany and his humour translated well to the Germans when he delighted fans with "Ich bin ein Berlino" (I am a Berlino), written on his warm-up T-shirt in honour of the championships' cuddly mascot -- the over-sized bear -- who patrolled the sidelines, returned the compliment with a T-Shirt reading: "Ich bin ein Bolt" (I am a Bolt), but there is room for only one global superstar in athletics. And then, the superstar attraction of the world athletics championships, was presented with a giant piece of the famous and historic Berlin Wall -- Cold War symbol -- by Berlin city mayor Klaus Wowereit. But Berlin was different, however, and not just because of the iconic blue track and the superb 1936 Olympic Stadium that provided such a stunning backdrop. While memories of Seoul, Barcelona, Sydney and Athens jump from the mind, it's far tougher to recall the exploits seen at Seville, Edmonton, Paris and Osaka. Nobody will ever forget the place where a man first ran "9.5-something" for the 100 metres. Bolt's 9.58 still seems a barely believable time coming just a few years after 9.8 was beyond the reach of all but the absolute cream of sprinting. The 11 hundredths of a second he took off his own world mark was twice as big a slice as any previous reduction since electronic timing was introduced around 40 years ago. And then he did it again in the 200, clocking 19.19, also taking 11 hundredths off. In Belgium, it was "deja vu", Bolt again showed his class again as finished the race. The world record holder saw off America's Wallace Spearmon, second in 20.19sec, with Ramil Guliyev of Azerbaijan taking third in 20.47sec in Brussels, where the temperature was an autumnal 15 degrees Celsius. Head bowed around the bend, Bolt came out strongly into the final stretch so far ahead of his rivals that the only question was whether he'd be able to break his record. He did not disappoint, his languid style powering his towering 6ft 5in physique through the line a good 10 metres ahead of any others in the field. But it was different story while back with Usain Bolt when a series of injuries that threatened to derail his career, reports of hard partying and lack of interest in training had caused many to write Bolt off as another over paid, spoiled athlete. But on June 24, 2007, Bolt crossed the finish line of the 200m in 19.75 seconds, breaking the Jamaican record set by Olympic legend Donald Quarrie in Cali, Colombia in August 1971, 15 years before Bolt was even born. There is no doubt that he is the "king" of the sport and "clean as a whistle", when it comes to drugs and steroids. The Jamaican insists he wants to show the world an athlete can run exceptional times while remaining clean of drugs. "I can just keep telling people I am clean," he said. "I just run, that is what I do, I don't know what else I can say to prove to people I am clean. "I get tested all the time, I train hard, I am legit. Hopefully, if I keep winning and stay clean the questions will go away one day." But he is tired now and of course missing his home after all these tours since July 1 for the Golden League in Europe. And now he has decided not to compete in China and South Korea later this month. May be its not big of a deal, because his name is already written in the history books as "fastest man on earth".
By Abdul Ahad Farshori Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) -- the crown jewel of the Pakistan Football Federation calendar -- exploded into action on July 25, with WAPDA, who are looking for the third straight title, favorites to hold on to the silver ware. As per draws the PPFL has been divided in to three phases, 58 of the 182 matches will be played in the first phase -- before the month of Ramazan. The second phase will begin from October 2 and will continue till Eid-ul-Azha. Competition will resume after that and will last till the end of December. The winners of the PPFL as always will feature in the sixth AFC President's Cup to be held next year in a yet to be confirmed venue. As the league went in to the Ramazan break, with the commencement of the first phase Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) -- fourth in the last edition -- has set the stage to dethrone the current champions. KRL is currently leading the pack with 22 points from eight matches. The team, who have never won the championship in their last 12 attempts are being lead by Samar Ishaq, most valuable player of the last edition of the PPFL, are as for now -- all set to give the holders (WAPDA) nightmares. KRL's best finish in the League has been the runners-up position in 2001. However, it may seem that WAPDA is more focused on their semifinal match of the AFC President's Cup, slatted in to be played on September 25. (This is the first time that a Pakistani club has qualified for the semifinal of the Asian event). WAPDA is currently sitting on the third spot in the table just ahead of the soldiers (Army), the two teams which have not finished below the top two berths in last six years. With less than a quarter of matches played so far, and 154 matches still to be played, it is very early to predict the end of the marathon event. But with KRL and Navy leading the board, who are also the only clubs yet to taste defeat, momentum is set to rewrite history. Not far from the top lying on the fifth spot are PAF -- qualified in place of the relegated teams -- causing sensations and promising enough to stage an upset under their new coach Qazi Muhammad Asif. Although they committed foul play in a match against NBP, who currently are at eleventh spot, and the decision of the match was reversed against them. Air Force fielded an illegal player . PEL and HBL are on the sixth and seventh spot respectively. Where as the WAPDA powered PMC Athletico, who in their starting lineup are featuring three WAPDA's players who have been allowed to represent and play for the clubs in order to keep themselves match fit. Star studded KESC on the other hand are yet to fire and are sitting way down on the ninth spot. PIA recording only two wins out of their eight matches have only managed to secure 10 points and have landed the tenth spot. The two Karachi based clubs -- KPT and NBP -- are constantly leaking goals as cracks are showing in their defence and mid field, have only managed a measly four points each. NBP being one of the big clubs of the country have failed to impress their critics as it took them five matches to register their first win. Not by their game but Bankers have managed to make headlines throughout the first phase, may it be the suspension of their coach, Nasir Ismail -- due to breach of discipline in a match against WAPDA -- or a protest against the resurgent PAF, NBP claimed that the Air Force have played an outside player in their 2-0 win against the Karachi based club. Later PFF approved their protest and the results were reversed in favour of the Bankers giving them three extra points to improve their tally to seven. In the relegation zone are the two Balochistan based clubs. Afghan FC, in spite of producing several talented players over the years, lurking at the end managing only two points from their eight matches. While the other promoted side Baloch FC have hit rock-bottom as they have so far managed only one point from their eight matches. WAPDA may be trailing in the third spot, behind KRL and Navy, but they have managed to score a massive 23 goals in their eight matches. With their skipper and experienced striker Arif Mehmood -- with two hat-tricks -- is the leading scorer of the league. But KRL is also making their presence known with a display of rock solid defence as their opponents all together have managed to score one goal against them. Fifty eight matches of the PPFL has so far produced an overwhelming 131 goals. And has set the motion of the league in the right direction, where a scintillating finish -- just like the last year when the champion was decided in the last match -- may keep the fans wanting for more. The rollercoaster ride of Pakistan's Premier Football League is to resume on October 2. |
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