Info

"Irfan Bachdim" New Talents Indonesian Football

Irfan Bachdim is a footballer who played in the Indonesian National Team and has become a new idol in Indonesia. He is a naturalized player of Dutch descent who was born in Amsterdam. His father, Noval Bachdim, is an Indonesian while his mother is Dutch.

Irfan Bachdim prefer to defend the Indonesian National Team and has proved his ability when Indonesia against Malaysia in the opening match of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 with the victory 5-1 to Indonesia. He has become the hope of the people of Indonesia to win every match and become a champion of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010.

The quality and ability Irfan Bachdim actually not much different from other Indonesian players, such as Bambang Pamungkas, Oktovianus Maniani and Christian Gonzalez is a player other naturalized Uruguayan origin. But Irfan Bachdim opportunities as the new idol and star player football is very open compared to other players.

Viva Indonesia, we hope that Indonesian National Team will be the champion of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 and became a new force in Southeast Asia, Asia and the World. We await the appearance of the Indonesian National Team that scintillating and surprising world of football.

Source: http://www.allvoices.com

Ducati 'must improve' for Rossi to be Rossi

Ducati has pledged to improve its MotoGP machine after superstar signing Valentino Rossi was left just 15th fastest at the end of his Desmosedici debut at the Valencia MotoGP test.

Tenth out of the 17 riders after day one, the seven time MotoGP champion improved by only 0.121sec during his next 70 laps on Wednesday's second and final day.

Rossi's best time was 1.695sec slower than the rider he has replaced at Ducati, Casey Stoner, who was fastest for Honda.

The Italian even came within 0.032sec of being outpaced by MotoGP rookie Karel Abraham, also riding a Ducati.

With Rossi unable to discuss the test due to the terms of his early release from Yamaha, it was left to Ducati Corse general manager Filippo Preziosi to face the press.

The first decision to make is in terms of the 2011 engine - stick with the 'big bang' or switch back to the 'screamer'. Preziosi is leaning towards the more user-friendly 'big bang', which Rossi used throughout day two.

"After these two days of tests we will go back to Ducati for a meeting, where we will decide which path to take between the two engines, the 'big bang' and the 'screamer', although the information we have is pointing towards the former," said Preziosi.

"It will be a decision we will make by analysing the data in depth as well as planning the way forward around all the other things we learnt at the test."

Preziosi then admitted he'd have liked Rossi to have gone faster, and that work needs to be done on the front end of the bike.

Stoner and Nicky Hayden crashed out of eight races this season. All those falls are believed to have been triggered by front end problems.

"The objective is clearly to allow Valentino to ride like Valentino!" said Preziosi.

"We know we have to improve the bike in order to achieve this, especially the front end. He has given us some very precise information and now it is down to us to use it.

"We would obviously have liked to give him the opportunity to go faster today, but even though that wasn't the case he has impressed everybody over the last two days with the way he works, his calm approach and his positive attitude towards everything.

"Nicky also worked very hard, as usual, and set a good lap time on the new Bridgestones as well as the ones we were already using, which is another big positive.

"Now we have to work to give them both a more competitive bike for the next test.”

The fastest Ducati rider at the test was Hayden, who used both the 'big bang' and 'screamer' engine on day two, setting his best time with the 'big bang'.

Hayden lapped 1.178sec quicker than Rossi for sixth on the timesheets.

"Today was a positive day for us," said the American. "We tried the 'screamer' and it wasn't easy to switch between engines but it was important to do a proper test on them both and get the data we need to make an important decision. I am leaning towards sticking with the 'big bang' but we will make the decision together."

Of the other Desmosedici riders, new Pramac signing Randy de Puniet was an impressive eighth on his Ducati debut, with team-mate Loris Capirossi one place in front of Rossi on his return to a manufacturer he won seven races with from 2003-2007.

The new sixth Ducati, ridden by Valencia Moto2 winner Abraham, was 16th.

Rossi will now head for surgery on his troublesome shoulder, which he damaged in a motocross accident in April, before making his debut in full Ducati colours at Sepang next February.

Source: http://www.crash.net

Rossi updates on condition, still eyeing Sepang

Valentino Rossi says he has made a good start to his rehabilitation process having eased himself back into training following his shoulder operation.

'The Doctor' went under the knife to correct the damage in his shoulder earlier this month [November], but with the stitches having now been removed, he is now able to begin some training on the rest of his body.

While surgeons initially raised concern that Rossi wouldn't quite be fully fit to participate in the next MotoGP test at Sepang in February – a crucial outing for the Italian as he looks to adapt to his new Ducati steed -, the seven-time world champion is more optimistic about the outcome.

“I'm undergoing rehabilition on my shoulder and the situation is improving,” he said on his personal website. “It's been two weeks since the operation and Doctor Porcellini has removed the stitches: I can now go back to the gym to workout - at least on the rest of my body - and continue to work on the shoulder, even if it's just passive rehab, to make sure we don't lose any mobility.

“In two weeks' time, I'll start actively working out, in the pool and in the gym, to be ready for the three day test at the start of February. We will have to move as fast as we can, but I hope to be in pretty good shape for the first test of 2011 with the Ducati at Sepang.”

Source: http://www.crash.net

Lorenzo: Spies relationship will be easier than Rossi

by Russell Atkins

Recently-crowned 2010 MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo has suggested that his relationship with new team-mate Ben Spies will likely be 'a little easier' than the sometimes rocky rapport he endured with Valentino Rossi over the past three seasons.

The frosty partnership between Lorenzo and Rossi was perhaps best evinced by the fact that a wall was erected in the FIAT Yamaha garage at the beginning of 2010 to divide the warring pair on race weekends, with no data passing from one side to the other. The move is understood to have pleased the Italian rather more than the Spaniard.

Lorenzo's burgeoning speed and potential and increasing stature inside the team has similarly posed problems. There were alleged ultimatums from Rossi this year and last – fervently denied by Yamaha management – that the team would have to choose between the pair for 2011, arguing that there was insufficient room at the inn for both of them. When it became apparent that Jorge was going nowhere, 'The Doctor' made his decision to jump ship to Ducati.

There was also, finally, the brutal, no-holds barred scrap over third place between the duo at Motegi in October – the very day after Lorenzo was reconfirmed for next year – with Rossi seemingly paying little heed to his team-mate's status as world champion-elect and subsequently being chided by Yamaha for having been 'not correct' and 'too aggressive'.

Boosted now by his title success and indisputably the number one at FIAT Yamaha heading into 2011, Lorenzo hopes he will enjoy a happier of time of things alongside Spies – a rider who, although highly-rated and tipped for a bright future in the sport off the back of an outstanding debut campaign in the premier class this year, will likely not pose too great a threat to the former double 250cc World Champion, initially at least.

“Ben seems like a nice guy,” Lorenzo told Crash.net Radio in an exclusive interview. “Our relationship is good. We share some jokes together, and I think it's going to be a little bit easier than with Valentino. We are rivals, we are competitors and we are going to fight to try to beat each other – that's the reality – but our relationship is going to be okay. Ben pushed me this year already! Next year with a factory bike and with more experience, for sure he is going to fight for wins – and maybe for the world title.”

The 23-year-old is also quick to downplay suggestions that as one of the few top MotoGP riders to be benefitting from continuity in 2011 – with chief rivals Rossi and Casey Stoner having switched to Ducati and Honda respectively – he is in pole position to lift the laurels for a second consecutive season.

“It depends,” he mused. “On the one hand, it's true that Valentino and Casey for example will be on new bikes that they don't have so much experience of, but they both have really high motivation, and this for sure will help them to be faster. Valentino is Italian and Ducati is Italian, so it's a big challenge for them – but I think they are going to fight to win from the first race. I think it's a really interesting change for MotoGP and all the people who watch it.”

Source: http://www.crash.net

Australia's Webber Defends Silence Over Shoulder Break

London. Australian Mark Webber has defended his silence over his broken shoulder while chasing this year’s Formula One title, saying his Red Bull team had no need to know about it.

The 34-year-old revealed in a book published in Australia this month that he fractured his shoulder falling off a mountain bike just before the Japanese Grand Prix while he was leading the standings.

The driver, who ended up third overall, said he had told only his physio and the FIA doctor about the injury that he carried through the final four races.

“A little bit of information can be a dangerous thing,” he said on his personal Web site in response to media reports this week.

“I came off a mountain bike while training between the races in Singapore and Japan, and an X-ray revealed a small fracture to my right shoulder. I was very confident it wouldn’t affect my performance in the car, which is why I didn’t tell anyone.

“There was no need. The shoulder wasn’t causing me a problem, so there was no need to talk about it to anyone,” added the Australian, who finished second in two of the last four races behind teammate and eventual champion Sebastian Vettel.

“If I’d had any issues with it in the car, then of course I would have told the team.

“But that wasn’t the case. I’ve never missed a Grand Prix but of course if I couldn’t drive the car safely and on the limit, I would have notified the team.”

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said on Monday he would have wanted to know.

“It is obviously disappointing Mark said nothing,” he said at an awards ceremony.

“It was an injury that did not appear to have any effect on his performance, but all the same it would have been nice to know about it.”

It was not the first time Webber has hidden an injury from the team.

In 2008, when he broke his leg in another mountain bike accident, he failed to tell the team that he had also broken his shoulder.

The Australian complained several times this season that he felt the team was emotionally favoring Vettel, describing himself as a No. 2 and his title challenge as “inconvenient” for the Austrian-owned team.

The latest injury came at a crucial part of the season and at a time when Webber was urging Red Bull to put its weight behind him rather than Vettel, who was behind him in the standings.

Webber said he had not undergone any operation since the end of the season, and the shoulder break was not the reason why he had missed the postseason tire test in Abu Dhabi. (Alan Baldwin)

Reuters

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com

Ferrari Dispels Job Fears After Title Loss

London - Ferrari will carry out minor tweaks to its Formula One team but no big changes after its failure to win a title this season, president Luca di Montezemolo said on Sunday.

Ferrari’s Spanish driver Fernando Alonso ended the year second overall after a strategy error in the final race at Abu Dhabi ended his hopes of a third world championship and crowned Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel instead.

The Italian team finished third in the constructors’ standings.

“We have very clear targets,” the team Web site quoted Montezemolo as saying at the Ferrari Mondiali event with fans and car owners from around the world at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit in eastern Spain.

“Right from Sunday night in Abu Dhabi I immediately tried to console our guys who were crying in the garage, spurring them to immediately look to the future.

“Changes within the team? That is not our philosophy, because for years now we have adopted a policy based on dynamic stability,” the Italian added. “A few minor adjustments are possible, but no major upheaval.”

Montezemolo paid tribute to Alonso, in his first season with Ferrari after winning his titles with Renault, and Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa.

“Alonso was amazing, both on and off the track, determined and full of self-belief, a real driving force,” he said.

“I expect a lot from Felipe next year. I am sure he will return to being the man we saw in 2008.”

Massa ended the season sixth overall after returning from serious head injuries suffered in a crash in Hungary in July 2009. He missed out on the title in 2008 by a single point to McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

Montezemolo said he was also happy with team principal Stefano Domenicali’s work in “moving us forward with great ability, spirit and a sense of balance.”

Reuters

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com

President praises national team`s performance at Asean Cup

Karangasem, Bali - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has praised the national football team`s performance at the ASEAN Football Championship.

The president made the commendation in remarks at the opening of a shrimp production center in Bugbug village, Karangasem district, on Monday.

"This is a good start. It proves that Indonesia can be successful in football," the president said.

But he also cautioned the Indonesian football team not remain content with its victory at the ASEAN championship where it had beaten Malaysia 5-1 and Laos 6-1. The president asked the team members to make its win a spur to further improve its performance in the days ahead.

The President recalled the moment when he last watched a friendly match between Indonesian and Uruguay. At the time, Indonesia was beaten 1-7 by the World Cup 2010 finalist.

"I felt sad at the time. But the national team has since continued to develop its capability and we can see the result now," said Yudhoyono. (*)

Source: http://www.antaranews.com