Underachieving Madrid banks on Mourinho to deliver

A season after breaking the bank on a squad of "galactico" players that failed to deliver a single title, Real Madrid is banking on coach Jose Mourinho to turn an underachieving squad of stars into champions.

Madrid president Florentino Perez wasted little time in securing the Portuguese coach's services after he led Inter Milan to the Champions League trophy at Madrid's own Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in May.

Now, the self-proclaimed "Special One" faces his biggest challenge yet as he looks to turn around the fortunes of football's biggest club.

"Real Madrid is a unique team in how it generates such enormous expectations, it's been the best club of the 20th century," Mourinho said. "I've had little time here so far but I'm already aware of what this team is and I want to go down in the history of Real Madrid."

Counting on players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso, Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas means the pressure is high - especially after another early exit from Europe last season and the humiliating Copa del Rey exit when it lost 4-0 to third-tier Alcorcon.

Madrid set a club record for points last season but two defeats by Barcelona proved the difference as its biggest rival won the league for a second straight season.

With the exits of Raul Gonzalez and Jose Maria "Guti" Gutierrz, Mourinho is set to spearhead a new age at Madrid, led by Ronaldo.

"Cristiano is very happy," Mourinho said. "He'll have a magnificent season under me."

After spending over euro250 million ($343 million) on players last summer, Madrid has been relatively quiet this time around with Argentina winger Angel Di Maria's arrival from Benfica for euro25 million ($31.7 million) its most expensive transfer. Madrid also signed Germany standout Sami Khedira from Stuttgart, Getafe midfielder Pedro Leon and longtime Mourinho favorite Ricardo Carvalho from Chelsea.

The arrivals of teenager Sergio Canales from Racing Santander and Germany playmaker Mesut Oezil from Werder Bremen are shaping up to be the most important, with Kaka out until December following knee surgery.

"(Oezil) is a creative player who is more offensive than (Fernando) Gago or Lassana (Diarra). He's got similar qualities to Canales," Mourinho said. "(Canales) is a player I like a lot. If he doesn't change, he'll get a lot of minutes in this team."

While Ronaldo and striker Gonzalo Higuain guarantee goals, Mourinho's biggest task might be in getting the best out of Karim Benzema, who has largely been a disappointment since a euro35 million ($44 million) move from Lyon last summer.

"Mentally I'm very strong and I'm convinced I'm going to score a lot of goals," Benzema said.

Carvalho will also be pressed into action immediately as Madrid is without injured center backs Pepe, Raul Albiol and Ezequiel Garay for its Aug. 29 opener against Mllorca.

Madrid's players have become quick believers in Mourinho, with Oezil saying his decision to move to the Spanish capital was all down to playing under Mourinho.

Goalkeeper Casillas said of his new coach: "He's got a lot of hope and desire to do things well. He's got a young group keen to achieve things. We have no reason to envy Barcelona."

Mourinho himself is keen on making history.

"I want to be the only one to have won the three most important leagues in the world: Spain, Italy and England," Mourinho said.

Barcelona will be Mourinho's biggest worry as it fields eight players from Sain's World Cup winning team.

But Mourinho is already familiar with Barcelona - where he previously worked as an assistant coach - from his infamous clashes while coach at Chelsea and Inter, which eliminated the defending European champions in last season's semifinals.

Mourinho is ready for the challenge - it may just be a question of whether Madrid is ready for him. (Paul Logothetis)

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Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven face Europa League battle

Former European champions Liverpool and PSV Eindhoven face a battle to reach the group stages of the Europa League in the second legs of their qualifying playoffs on Thursday.

English side Liverpool travels to Turkey with only a 1-0 lad from its first leg against Trabzonspor at Anfield last week, courtesy of Ryan Babel's goal.

In unfamiliar territory after failing to qualify for the Champions League last season, Liverpool risk missing out on making the group stages of Europe's second-tier club competition.

"Whether the margin of victory is enough, only time will tell, but we can at least go there with a lead and having not conceded a goal," manager Roy Hodgson said.

Liverpool is yet to win in the Premier League this season, its 3-0 defeat at Manchester City following a goalless draw at home to Arsenal.

The five-time European champion should welcome back attacking midfielder Joe Cole from domestic suspension but is set to be without Javier Mascherano, who "isn't in the right frame of mind at the moment to play," according to Hodgson, after being the subject of a bid from Barcelona.

PSV fared worse in its opening match in the playoffs, losing 1-0 to Russian side Sibir Novosibirsk after having Francisco Rodriguez sent off in the first half. The Dutch club, which won the European Cup in 1988, conceded a goal to Aleksandr Degtyarev in the second minute of injury time.

PSV at least recovered from its European setback by winning in its domestic championship, 3-1 against AZ Alkmaar on Sunday.

"We're happy to have bounced back from the defeat at FC Sibir. I asked the players to switch over and that's what they've done," coach Fred Rutten said.

Rodriguez will miss the second leg after being handed a one-match ban following his sending-off.

Meanwhile, fallen Italian giant Juventus has a 2-1 lead over Sturm Graz to take into the return leg thanks to a stoppage-time winner by Brazilian striker Amauri.

Aston Villa, which is level at 1-1 with Rapid Vienna, will look to avoid being eliminated in the Europa League playoffs by the Austrian team for the second year running.

Fellow English side Manchester City will be without first-leg match-winner Mario Balotelli for its return match against FC Timisoara, which lost 1-0 in Romania last week. The Italy forward is still nursing an injury sustained late in the first leg.

Elsewhere, Turkish sides Fenerbahce and Galatasaray are struggling to make it through. Galatasaray drew 2-2 at home to Karpaty Lviv of Ukraine and Fenerbahce lost 1-0 at PAOK Salonika in the first leg. (The Associated Press)

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Koreans together on Asian Games podium

Two South and North Korean athletes shook hands and stood side-by-side on the Asian Games medal podium on Tuesday as their countries waged a deadly military skirmish.

In the women's individual archery competition, South Korea's Yun Ok-hee won gold, beating Cheng Ming of China in the final, with Kwon Un Sil of North Korea securing the bronze medal.

Yun walked over to Kwon with the South Korean flag draped over her shoulders after winning the competition, and the North Korean gave her a friendly pat on the back.

Kwon, wearing a red team jacket, and Yun, with a multicolored team top, both stood with their hands behind their backs before the medals were presented. But when Yun was introduced to the crowd, she stopped to shake hands with Kwon before proceeding to get the gold medal.

Neither athlete wanted to comment on the political tension on their divided peninsula in a later news conference, where organizers tried to restrict questions.

Yun said she didn't care about the political tension and declined to answer questions, saying "We are supposed to get questions relevant to the competition only."

Kwon said she didn't know anything about the skirmish.

"I just try to do my best in my performance. I don't pay attention to, or care about the situation," Kwon said through a translator. "My goal at this Asian Games, and my only goal, was to win the gold medal.

"It is not only for my own aspirations but also for our great leader."

Seoul claimed that North Korea shot dozens of rounds of artillery onto a populated South Korean island near their disputed western border earlier Tuesday, reportedly killing a marine and injuring 13 people.

South Korea said it returned fire and scrambled fighter jets in response, and said the "inhumane" attack on civilian areas violated the 1953 armistice halting the Korean War. The two sides technically remain at war because a peace treaty was never negotiated.

There was no evidence of animosity between the delegations at the archery range as competition progressed. After she'd won the bronze medal playoff, Kwon and her coach spent time in the same rest area and exchanged greetings with two South Korean team officials.

During the playing of the South Korean national anthem, the flags of both countries were raised side by side. Yun pulled out a large South Korean flag after the anthem was played and held it in outstretched arms in front of a group of South Korean fans.

At a later photo opportunity, Kwon didn't appear to mind standing beside Yun as she held up a South Korean flag for the cameras.

Manuel Silverio, the Olympic Council of Asia's media committee chairman, said he was pleased to hear the archers react in such a positive way and urged athletes from both sides to remain at the games, which bring together more than 10,000 athletes from 45 countries and are due to finish Saturday.

"The OCA is making an appeal to all athletes from both sides that they must stay together to show that they are here to compete, and never withdraw," Silverio told The Associated Press. "This is in the OCA and IOC constitution that this is a sports festival, a sports arena. It is nothing related to here."

Silverio said neither team had asked for any extra security arrangements due to Tuesday's events. When contacted for comment, both sides said there was no plan to quit the games.

North Korean wrestler Yang Kyong Il appeared shy and answered simply "I don't know" when journalists asked him about the skirmish after the medal ceremony for the men's freestyle 55 kilogram class.

Yang took the silver after losing to an opponent from Uzbekistan and shared the podium with bronze medalist Kim Hyo-sub of South Korea, though the two were not next to each other.

Organizers canceled a post-ceremony news conference.

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Ceylon loses thriller, WISCI extends streak

Ceylon lost a thriller against GMIS CC, and WISCI extended its winning streak by defeating Indorama in the weekend matches of the Apple Coal JCA League 2010-11.

Ceylon lost by 4 runs to GMIS CC despite the heroics of Ceylon captain Dihan Silva, who remained unbeaten on 153 in Cibubur, East Jakarta. Electing to bat first, GMIS CC amassed 268/5 in 35 overs based on Nitesh Pansare’s maiden century (102 runs) and Nicholas Manuel’s 82 runs.

In reply, Ceylon, lead by Dihan who has a reputation for winning matches single handedly, came precariously close to scripting one of the most memorable run chases in JCA league history. Ceylon fell short by just 4 runs, ending at 264/6 in 35 overs. Gaurav Kapoor made 41 runs.

In a match at Karawaci in Tangerang, Banten, WISCI were declared winners on better run rate, when rain stopped play after 20 overs. Electing to bat, Indorama posted 179/8, after struggling at 36/4 in 12 overs. Arjun Chouhan’s 56 and Vinod Verghese’s unbeaten 35 runs provided respectability to Indorama’s score. Kailas Raina took 2 wickets for 17 runs.

Sensing rain the match was curtailed with WISCI ahead of the required run rate of 5.14 and 123/1 in 20 overs. Steve Callaghan scored the most with 62 runs and had an opening partnership of 97 with Paul Griffith.

WISCI top the league with 60 points and have won all 5 matches.—JP

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India Counts on Prime Pitch for Batsmen

Hyderabad, India - Judging by his past experience of the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni expects bat to dominate ball in the second test against New Zealand starting on Friday.

The latest addition to the list of test venues, as the five-day game returns to Hyderabad after a 22-year hiatus, is not expected to provide the kind of result-friendly pitch that India would prefer after having drawn the series opener.

“We have played some one-dayers and IPL [Indian Premier League] matches here and found the pitch to be on the flat side with some bounce, which enables batsmen to score freely,” Dhoni said on Thursday.

The first test of the three-match series ended in a draw at Ahmedabad, where India needed a rearguard action by V.V.S. Laxman and a century from bowler Harbhajan Singh in the second innings to resist a looming defeat.

Dhoni said he would like to be more attacking but the team was not contemplating going in with an extra bowler.

“I would like the luxury of playing five bowlers, but then you have to consider what your best side is. We like to rely on part-time bowlers to supplement the four regular bowlers,” Dhoni said.

The India skipper also backed out-of-form opener Gautam Gambhir — 86 runs in his past 10 innings — saying his place in the side was not yet at risk despite the claims of Murali Vijay, who scored a century in the final test against Australia last month as replacement for the injured Gambhir.

“With Gambhir it is a the pressure of performance rather than the fear of failure,” Dhoni said. “He has set a high benchmark for himself and others like Murali will have to wait for some time.”

Dhoni also put pressure upon the umpires, after questionable decisions in the first test.

“Everyone saw Laxman’s decision in the first test. Strong measures have to be taken to improve the standard of umpiring,” Dhoni said in reference to Steve Davis’s lbw decision when replays showed a clear inside edge off Laxman’s bat when he was just nine runs shy of a century.

New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori urged his team to “maintain the high standards” after the strong showing in the first test.

“We need to back up our performance in the first match with another one here,” Vettori said on Thursday.

India started the series as a strong favorite but was surprised by a resurgent New Zealand in the series opener. The third and final test will be held in Nagpur next week. (C. Rajshekhar Rao)

Associated Press

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Haider Forced to Give Up Career Amid Fixing Threats

London - Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider has retired from international cricket and is reportedly seeking political asylum in Britain amid alleged threats from match-fixers.

Haider left the Pakistan team in Dubai on Monday and flew to London after claiming he had been offered money to lose matches against South Africa, the latest twist in the fixing scandals rocking the team.

The 24-year-old Haider would not identify who threatened him or the nature of the threats that prompted him to flee the team hotel in Dubai and travel to England without telling anyone.

“I was approached by one person who asked me to fix the fourth and fifth match, and there would be problem for me if I did not do it,” Haider said.

“I do not want to say who is involved and who is not involved in the match-fixing.”

Haider said he received threats after scoring the winning run in Friday’s one-wicket in the fourth one-day international in Dubai. South Africa won the fifth and decisive ODI on Monday and clinched the series 3-2.

“The country is like a mother and anyone who sells it cannot get anything in life,” he said.

“I did not want to sell my mother. I did not want to sell my country and I did what I thought was better.”

Following Friday’s match, Haider asked a Pakistan Cricket Board official for his passport, pretending he needed it to buy a mobile phone connection, and then left the hotel three days later to fly to London.

“I did not do what I was asked to do in the fourth one-dayer and I also did not let it happen what was being asked to do, so this is the reason that I left it and came here and I did what I felt better,” he said.

Haider would not detail the threats, but Pakistan police beefed up security at his house in Lahore “to avoid any untoward incident,” according to senior police official Sahahzada Salim.

“I cannot say what kind of threats I have received as my family is still in Pakistan,” Haider said, adding his reluctance to provide details was in the interests of family safety.

Haider arrived in London on Monday and said he had discussed his status with immigration officials.

“I understand there is rule in Britain that if you are on right and if you are not a criminal, then they always protect you.”

Raza Haider said his brother was asked by UK immigration authorities to appear with a lawyer. He said the family was sending Zulqarnain money he received for playing in Pakistan’s tour of England earlier this year.

Haider is staying at a hotel near Heathrow Airport while his case is being decided.

Julie Gibbs, spokeswoman for the Information Center about Asylum and Refugees, said Pakistani citizens seeking asylum in the UK were usually dealt with on a “fast-track system.”

But Gibbs said it was unlikely Haider would be granted political asylum if he requested it, while emphasizing that each case was different.

“He’s not got a good chance. Pakistan isn’t really an asylum country,” she said. (Mark Walsh)

Associated Press

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McCullum Hits Ton to Keep Kiwi Hopes Alive

Brendon McCullum struck a well-paced century on Monday as New Zealand reached 237-4 at the close of play on the fourth day of the second test against India after conceding a 122-run first innings lead.

The test looks like providing an interesting final day as New Zealand is 115 runs ahead with six wickets in hand.

McCullum was batting on 124 and Kane Williamson had 12 as the Kiwis looked to prolong the second innings, just as Harbhajan Singh had done earlier in the day for India with a century that took its first innings to 472.

McCullum started aggressively and was particularly severe on the spinners, striking 11 fours and three sixes off 177 balls.

He built up a 125-run partnership for the first wicket with Tim McIntosh (49), the first three-figure opening stand for New Zealand in over six years.

McIntosh hit six fours and a six before he was caught at forward short leg off left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha.

Left-hander McIntosh, who had struck 102 in the first innings after twice being out for nought in the first match at Ahmedabad, was comfortable against both pace and spin before being caught bat and pad.

Martin Guptill (18) lasted for 67 minutes but did not seem fluent despite having scored 85 in the first innings. He was out caught behind as he tried to slash a delivery from Ojha but only managed an edge.

Ross Taylor (7) fell 13 runs later as seam bowler Shantakumaran Sreesanth produced a fine delivery that came in sharply and found the gap between bat and pad to dislodge the stumps.

Jesse Ryder (20) could not do much either and edged one to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni off part-time spinner Suresh Raina as New Zealand slipped from 174-1 to 221-4.

Earlier, Harbhajan became the first number eight batsman to score centuries in successive tests, scoring 111 not out to lead India to its 122-run first innings.

India added 36 runs to its overnight 436-9 before Sreesanth (24) was trapped lbw by Daniel Vettori to end the innings at 472.

New Zealand had scored 350 in its first innings. 

Associated Press

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