The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Injured Safee doubtful for second-leg tie against Taiwan
- Dawn of Red Bull era
- Klitschko to unleash fists of fury
| Injured Safee doubtful for second-leg tie against Taiwan Posted: 30 Jun 2011 04:18 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Mohd Safee Sali knee injury may force him out of the Asian Zone World Cup first round, second-leg qualifying match against Taiwan at the Taipei Stadium on Sunday. Team manager Datuk Subahan Kamal said Safee, the top scorer in the Suzuki Cup Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championships with five goals, is racing against time to be fit for the game. Safee left with the squad for Taipei yesterday. "I have my doubts about Safee's chances of playing in Taipei but he is there now with the team for the return-leg match," said Subahan yesterday. Subahan, who will leave for Taipei today, said Safee had complained of pain during the first-leg match in Bukit Jalil and was substituted before the start of the second-half. He said they had other options for the strike force and would not risk aggravating Safee's injury. "We want him to be ready for the second round match against Singapore – scheduled for July 23 (away) and 28 (home) – provided we get past Taiwan," said Subahan, who is confident Malaysia can advance to the next round after winning the first-leg 2-1 at the National Sadium in Bukit Jalil on Wednesday. But national coach Datuk K. Rajagopal can at least take heart from the return of Super League top striker Norshahrul Idlan Talaha for Sunday's match. The Kelantan striker, who is the leading scorer with 17 goals, has recovered from his hamstring injury but was rested against Taiwan in the home-leg. "I am sure Norshahrul will inject more bite upfront. I am confident coach Rajagopal will come up with a game plan," said Subahan, who expects the talented Norshahrul to combine with either Baddrol Bakhtiar, Abdul Hadi Yahaya or Ahmad Fakri Saarani upfront. Mohd Ashaari Shamsuddin and S. Chanturu can provide a different option in attack. Goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat should reclaim the No. 1 jersey after sitting out the first-leg with a shoulder injury. Mohd Sharbinee Allawee was fielded in the first-leg. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Posted: 30 Jun 2011 04:16 PM PDT LONDON: Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull may be heading for an era of Formula One dominance akin to Michael Schumacher's with Ferrari in the previous decade, according to the sport's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone. The 80-year-old also told the official formula1.com website that Vettel's victories had more weight than Schumacher's because of the level of competition faced by the 23-year-old German. "Sebastian is in a similar position as Michael," said Ecclestone. "Sebastian is the best right now and that's why he is dominating. "That's what makes it so interesting for the fans because every race weekend starts with a big question mark - who will be able to beat Vettel? That's why fans tune in."Vettel, the sport's youngest world champion, has won six of the first eight races this season and finished second in the other two. He has a 77-point advantage over McLaren's Jenson Button and his own Australian team-mate Mark Webber with 11 races remaining. The German has 16 wins to date, in comparison to seven-time world champion Schumacher's record 91, and is one of five world champions on the starting grid - Schumacher, Button, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. When Schumacher won a record 13 races in the 2004 season, he was the only champion on the starting grid until Canadian Jacques Villeneuve returned for three races late that year. The German won five titles in a row with Ferrari while compatriot Vettel is heading for his second in succession with Red Bull. "The competition Sebastian is facing is much bigger than that confronted by Michael," said Ecclestone. "That makes Seb's wins even more noteworthy. "I don't see a reason why there shouldn't be a Red Bull era just as Ferrari had theirs with Michael." Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told reporters after Vettel won last weekend's European Grand Prix in Valencia that the champion was just getting better and better. "He's a perfectionist. He analyses his own performance more than anybody," said Horner. Schumacher, now 42 and in the second year of his comeback with Mercedes, was also renowned for his obsessive attention to detail and careful analysis of anything that might give him an advantage. Apart from taking a good look at the steering wheels on the cars of his rivals after qualifying for the Valencia race, Vettel also made sure he was fully up to speed with their progress on Sunday."He never ceases to surprise us because at one point we hadn't told him we had put the prime tyres on Mark's car because we didn't want him (Vettel) to push any harder," said Horner. "But then he came on the radio at one point and said, 'What time is Mark doing on the primes?' We all looked at ourselves and thought 'Who told him?'. "Of course he was watching the big TV screen as he is going round and he has the capacity to take that in. "He's always thinking which is one of his major strengths." — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Klitschko to unleash fists of fury Posted: 30 Jun 2011 04:15 PM PDT HAMBURG: If Wladimir Klitschko thought he was going to get a glimpse of David Haye's boxing style on Wednesday, he must have been disappointed. After warming up at a public training session, the Briton threw just one punch before leaving the ring, stunning a crowd that included his Ukrainian rival in a much anticipated heavyweight fight tomorrow. Haye showed no interest as Klitschko started his workout, chatting with TV reporters before leaving the training centre in Hamburg with his entourage. After his full-hour session, Klitschko said he was getting fed up with his opponent's "childish" antics. "I can't even take it seriously. It's not even funny anymore," said the 35-year-old IBF and WBO champion. "You can trash talk a certain time, but as I said, reality is coming ... and it's serious business. It won't be funny for David Haye." The two fighters have traded some fairly strong insults, even by heavyweight boxing standards, in the lead-up to the fight. Haye, the WBA champion, has worn a T-shirt showing the severed heads of Klitschko and his older brother Vitali. In one of his latest taunts, Haye said he was more worried about getting knocked out by Germany's E. coli outbreak than by Klitschko, who has a 55-3 record with 49 KOs. Haye, a 30-year-old former unified cruiserweight champion, said he believes his presence has made the heavyweight division more interesting, especially among American boxing fans. "Their message is 'get Wladimir out of this division because he's killing it," Haye said on Wednesday. "It's only now, since I've started doing my thing, that people think, 'OK, let me see what this guy's all about, maybe we've got an entertaining fight here."' During his brief workout, Haye shaped up with an uncharacteristic southpaw stance in an apparent attempt to play mind games with Klitschko, who was watching ringside with his brother, the WBC titleholder. When his coach brought out the pads, Haye threw just one punch before taking a bow and leaving the ring. Klitschko was not impressed. "I think he sits in the room in the hotel and he thinks: 'What else can I do' to anger the Klitschko team," Wladimir said. "But little by little, we're coming to the reality. And reality's name is July 2." — AP Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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