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Kelantan Back In The Lead

Kuala Lumpur - Kelantan are back at the top of the Super League after they defeated Kuala Lumpur 2-0 at the Sultan Mohamad IV Stadium in Kota Bharu Saturday night.

With the result, they now have 33 points, the same as previous leaders Selangor after 16 matches a piece but have a superior goal difference.

Mohd Badri Radzi put the visitors ahead in the 24th minute while S.Chanturu wrapped their victory in fine fashion in the 79th minute.

At the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium, Kuala Terengganu, hosts T-Team were held to goalless draw by Pahang while at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras here Negeri Sembilan drew 2-2 with Felda United.

At the JCorp Stadium in Pasir Gudang, Johor FC mauled Sabah 3-0 with the goals supplied by Eddy Helmi Abdul Manan (41st), Mohd Riduwan Maon (80th) and Shahrizal Saad (90th).

In Kangar, bottom-placed Perlis piled more misery on themselves when they lost 1-3 to visitors Harimau Muda A.

Source: http://www.bernama.com

Puyol, Milito make Barcelona squad for third clash

Madrid: Barcelona defenders Carles Puyol and Gabriel Milito have recovered from injuries to be included in the squad to play Real Madrid in a Champions League semi-final first leg, the Spanish league leaders said on Monday.

Spain international Puyol missed the King's Cup final defeat to Real last week and Saturday's league victory over Osasuna with a muscle strain but returns for the third "Clasico" in the space of 12 days.

Argentine centre-back Milito, who tweaked a muscle in the Cup final, also recovered but Brazilian fullback Maxwell missed out due to a groin problem.

Options in defence
The return of the experienced pair gives coach Pep Guardiola options in defence where he has already lost Eric Abidal and Adriano Correia to injury.

With striker Bojan Krkic also sidelined, Guardiola called up youth team players Thiago Alcantara, Sergi Roberto and Martin Montoya to the squad.

Barca visit the Bernabeu on Wednesday and the second leg is at the Nou Camp on May 3.

Source: http://gulfnews.com

Manchester City proving their worth

By Jaydip Sengupta

Dubai - Former Manchester United midfielder Lee Sharpe believes Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City are destined for glory after their defeat of the Red Devils in the FA Cup recently.

Speaking to XPRESS during his visit to Abu Dhabi in his role as guest commentator on AD Sports, Sharpe said: "Manchester City are definitely learning to live with the top teams now, and I'd expect them to make a top four Champions League spot this year.

"If you look at the talent they've got in the side, there's no reason why they won't continue to challenge the top premier league teams every season. You don't spend all the money they've spent without expecting silverware to follow.

More attacking

"I think the manager, [Roberto] Mancini needs to be a little bolder going forward into next season. As is the Italian way, he seems a little too obsessed with defence and with not losing, and not brave enough to go out and play to win games. They're a team capable of playing a better type of football.

"It wouldn't hurt to aim a bit higher either. It's been a wide open league again this year and Manchester City are more than capable of contending for the top couple of spots and not just for a Champions League place. The more they win, the more the mind-set at the club will change and they will start to believe that they can challenge for the league title."

Talking of his former club who are very much in the running for a double, Sharpe said: "I know that the guys will have been really disappointed with the result in the FA cup semi-final. It's a blow, definitely, but I think it would just have made them more determined than before to do succeed in the other cups."

Asked to comment on Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish's view that the Reds are the best club in England going by their European record, Sharpe said: "I love Kenny, he's a great guy. Liverpool are a fantastic club with a great set of supporters but the fact remains that they have been poor over the last few seasons. I think instead of looking at what you achieved 20 years ago as a club, what's more relevant is what's happened in the last few seasons. He's doing a great job at Liverpool this season though. They've turned around their season amazingly and I'd expect him to build on that for next season," he said.

Source: http://gulfnews.com

Former Indonesian soccer team coach passes away

Dutch soccer legend and former Indonesian squad coach Wiel Coerver passed away in his hometown of Kerkrade on Friday morning.

He died at the age of 86, goal.com reported Friday.

Coerver managed the red-and-white squad from 1975-1976.

Under his coaching, Indonesia reached the finals of the qualifying leg for the 1976 Olympics Games in Montreal, Canada. However, failed to qualify for Montreal after being edged out by North Korea in a dramatic penalty shootout.

Coerver was famed for developing his players’ ball skills and implementing combined group attacks, aptly named the Coerver method, combining dribbling, passing skills, “one-on-one moves”, speed, and “lethal finishing”.

He also enjoyed a memorable club coaching career, winning several Dutch titles. His crowning achievement was winning the UEFA Cup with Feyenoord in 1974.

Coerver picked up the prestigious Oeuvre Award in 2008 for his contribution to the game.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com

Kediri questions FIFA, calls for appeal for Army chief

The Kediri branch of the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) has asked the world’s governing soccer body, FIFA, to explain why Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Toisutta cannot be nominated in the ongoing race for the PSSI chairmanship post for the 2011-2015 period.

George had so far topped the list of candidates registering for the race, with support from 14 PSSI members, while business tycoon Arifin Panigoro, who initiated a rival soccer league, is second in line with 13 votes.

FIFA has rejected the nominations of both George and Arifin.

PSSI Kediri office chief Barnadi said FIFA was not being transparent with the reasons behind its decisions to ban George from the chairmanship race.

“Arifin maybe guilty of creating the LPI [rival soccer league], but what has Toisutta done?" Barnadi said Friday in the East Java town of Kediri, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

He added that the FIFA decision could still be challenged if Indonesian soccer clubs and the PSSI united in their stance and called for other members of the PSSI to launch an appeal to FIFA.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com

Madrid - Barcelona have decided to appeal UEFA's proposal to ban Andres Iniesta for one Champions League match for deliberately collecting a yellow card.

The Spain midfielder was cautioned in the first leg of Barca's quarter-final against Shakhtar Donetsk, which the Spanish club won 5-1, for not retreating the required distance at a freekick, meaning he missed the return game in Ukraine.

UEFA officials at the match alleged Iniesta provoked the card so he could serve the standard one-match ban in the second leg and would have a clean slate for the semi-finals.

Barcelona face La Liga rivals Real Madrid in the last four of Europe's premier club competition with the first leg away at the Bernabeu on April 27.

"FC Barcelona believe that the arguments outlined in their appeal, based on the good faith of the player and the disproportionate nature of the proposed sanction will be sufficient to rebut these allegations," the club said on their website (www.fcbarcelona.cat). "The UEFA disciplinary committee will make a decision on the case on Wednesday," they added. Reuters

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com

Mourinho Set to Haunt Barca in Semi-Finals Again

Madrid. Jose Mourinho is ready to haunt Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals again on Wednesday, this time with Real Madrid.

Knocking Barca out of Europe's elite club competition after winning the King's Cup final against them last week could signal the start of a power-shift in Spanish football away from Catalunya and back to Madrid.

The Portuguese coach has always managed to rile Barca, where he spent some of his formative years as an assistant to Bobby Robson in the 1990s, and guided Inter Milan to victory against them in the semis last year on the way to Champions League glory.

Mourinho also crossed swords with Barca three times during his spell at Chelsea, twice bettering them over a 'two-match series'.
His ability to ruffle the Catalan team's feathers knows no end and he has outwitted them so far in the unprecedented 'four-match series' between the world's two richest clubs.

A 1-1 league draw, when Real came back to level with 10 men on April 16, was followed by last Wednesday's 1-0 extra-time victory in the King's Cup final, Mourinho's first trophy as coach of the Madrid side.

The league title is all but wrapped up for Barcelona but the tantalizing prospect of a 10th European Cup triumph lies ahead for Real, and a third for Mourinho all with different teams.

Barca defender Gerard Pique refused to be drawn on the hot topics of debate after the first two 'Clasicos' such as the quality of the refereeing, the length of the grass at the Bernabeu and Real's aggressive, 'negative' approach.

"The grass is long but I'm not going to cry about it," the Spanish World Cup winner told daily El Pais of the pitch at Wednesday's Bernabeu venue.

"It's normal for them to take particular care over their defence and that they try to stop our passing game. Mourinho will use everything available to him.

Powerful Team
"At the end of the day they are a powerful team with very good forwards," added Pique.

Breaking coach Pep Guardiola's record of five consecutive 'Clasico' wins, including a 5-0 demolition of Mourinho's team at the Nou Camp in November, and then winning the King's Cup has dented Barca's aura of invincibility.

Real have proved they can match their rivals with ultra-aggressive tactics that have not been to everyone's liking, with the Madrid club having had a player sent off in the last three meetings between the sides.

The two clubs are the competition's top scorers with 24 goals each but the previous two 'Clasicos' have been tense tussles with few sights of goal.

Madrid have packed the centre of the pitch with three holding players led by centre-back turned midfield-enforcer Pepe, ruthlessly denying Barca's playmakers time and space while looking to break quickly.

Sami Khedira's injury means Lassana Diarra will probably replace him in midfield while Mourinho may opt to play without a recognised number nine again as he did in the King's Cup final. At the back Ricardo Carvalho is suspended but Real's defensive problems are not as acute as Barca's.

The absence of Eric Abidal, Adriano Correia and Maxwell mean the returning Carles Puyol could be asked to fill in at left back while midfielder Javier Mascherano could play in defence again.

Any change in Barca's standard 4-3-3 formation would probably be read as an acknowledgement that Real have worked out the way to play against Guardiola's three magicians -- Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi.

Probable teams: Real Madrid: 1-Iker Casillas, 17-Alvaro Arbeloa, 4-Sergio Ramos, 18-Raul Albiol, 12-Marcelo; 10-Lassana Diarra, 3-Pepe, 14-Xabi Alonso; 22-Angel Di Maria, 9-Cristiano Ronaldo, 23-Mesut Ozil Barcelona: 1-Victor Valdes; 2-Dani Alves, 14-Javier Mascherano, 3-Gerard Pique, 5-Carles Puyol; 8-Andres Iniesta, 16-Sergio Busquets, 6-Xavi; 17-Pedro, 10-Lionel Messi, 7-David Villa. Reuters

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com