ARAB TIMES, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015

40SPORTS

Infantino vows FIFA reforms from day one

I will open the bookscompletely: Prince AliTOKYO, Nov 30, (Agencies): FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali Bin Hussein hassaid he will make public all financial documents at soccer’s world governing body if heis elected. In an interview with Japan’s Kyodo news agency, the Jordanian royal said hewould lift the lid on any previously undisclosed documents, including any paymentsmade to top FIFA officials.

“I will open the books completely,” Prince Ali said.

Diego Valeri #8 of Portland Timbers raises the MLS Western conference trophy after defeating FC Dallas in the Western Conference Finals-Leg 2 of the MLSplayoffs at Toyota Stadium on Nov 29. (AFP)

Rejuvenated Juventus routPalermo, ‘move’ up to fifth

Caen go 2nd

Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel (left), fightsfor the ball against Swansea’s Ederduring the English Premier Leaguesoccer match between Liverpool andSwansea at Anfield Stadium,Liverpool, England on Nov 29. (AP)

“I believe people have a right to know.I think it’s a job that has to be recognisedand if you want to have accountability,you need to know what’s there and there-fore you can judge.

“Salaries, finances, what have you,that should all be open. Why not? Peoplewant it to be open.”

Prince Ali is one of five men that havebeen approved as presidential candidatesfor next February’s election.

He lost out to Sepp Blatter in the lastpresidential election in May and is run-ning again on a manifesto pledging torestore the reputation of the scandal-rid-den governing body.

“The organization itself, FIFA, it’s notbroken. But it is at rock bottom and wecan build up definitely,” he said.

“But we have to be open, we have to betransparent — and not in words but indeeds. I think that’s what people want andwe have to have a new outlook in the waywe work.”

UEFA’s Gianni Infantino said hewould work to clean up FIFA from “dayone” if elected leader after an evening ofclose discussions with his Asian rivalSheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa.

Infantino told AFP that he would insti-gate reforms immediately if he is electedon February 26 to succeed the suspendedand deeply controversial Sepp Blatter.

The general secretary of the Europeanbody was speaking after sitting side-by-side with Sheikh Salman, another leadingcontender for FIFA, at Sunday’s Asianfootball awards near New Delhi.

“Reforms... need to be not only agreedbut they need to be implemented as well,”the Italian said late on Sunday.

“So as of day one, 27th of February,you have to start implementing and livingthe reforms, and from doing it on a day-by-day basis in UEFA I know what itmeans — good governance, financialtransparency, structure of changes thatare being proposed.”

Infantino and Sheikh Salman, presi-dent of the Asian Football Confederation(AFC), were seen having cordial discus-sions during the awards ceremony andgala dinner in Gurgaon.

A third FIFA candidate, Jordan’sPrince Ali bin Al Hussein, who has beenat odds with Sheikh Salman in the past,was seated elsewhere.

Neither Prince Ali or Sheikh Salmanwere prepared to discuss their FIFAambitions, but the Bahraini royal gave anindication of Asia’s growing clout andambition in his opening address.

“For a long time people talked aboutthe future being Asia. I am now con-vinced that the present is Asia,” SheikhSalman told the crowd of hundreds ofdelegates.

“I’m certain that we stand on the verybrink of greatness in this continent, thedawning of an Asian age.”

Sheikh Salman and Infantino are shap-ing as the leading candidates to take overFIFA, after a period of unprecedented tur-moil sparked by a series of corruptionclaims.

Sheikh Salman’s bid has strong back-ing in Asia, one of FIFA’s biggest federa-tions, as well as the heavyweight supportof Kuwaiti powerbroker Sheikh AhmadAl Fahad Al Sabah.

Infantino is Europe’s main candidate,after Michel Platini was suspended over asuspect $2 million payment, and he hasalso been promised the votes of the 10-member SouthAmerican confeder-ation.

He skirted ques-tioning about thechallenge posed bySheikh Salman, andsaid what footballneeded was opendebate about itsfuture, as well asunity among FIFA’s209 members.

“Sheikh Salman is obviously the presi-dent of a very important confederation,the AFC. It’s normal that he has the back-ing here, the same as I have the backingin Europe,” Infantino said.

“South America has expressed alsotheir backing for me which anotherimportant football confederation... what Ihope and what I think will happen is wecan debate.”

SOCCER

Citiy & Reds turneyes to Cup prizeLONDON, Nov 30, (Agencies):Manchester City and Liverpoolhead the list of teams coveting aberth in the League Cup semi-finals this week as the competitionreaches the quarter-final stagewithout several major names.

With Arsenal, ManchesterUnited, Tottenham Hotspur andholders Chelsea having fallen bythe wayside, City and Liverpoolwill already have designs on theFeb 28 final at Wembley.

City, who host second-tier HullCity on Tuesday, won 3-1 againstSouthampton at the weekend andhaving lost to Liverpool andJuventus in their two previousgames, goalkeeper WillyCaballero hopes Saturday’s suc-cess proves a turning point.

“We need to play like this thenext game,” he told the club web-site.

“In December, if we play in thisway, if the injured players return,like David Silva today (Saturday),I think we will stay in the firstpositions of the table.”

Caballero is in line to deputiseagain for the injured Joe Hart,while manager Manuel Pellegrinimust decide whether to hand astart to influential striker SergioAguero, who went off with aknock against Southampton.

“We must try to recover the play-ers for Tuesday,” said Pellegrini.“It’s important for us to reach thesemi-final of the League Cup.”

Liverpool face a difficult trip toSouthampton on Wednesday, butthey will go into the game having lostonly one of the 10 games they haveplayed since Jurgen Klopp succeededBrendan Rodgers as manager.

Klopp saw his team beatSwansea City 1-0 on Sunday cour-tesy of a James Milner penalty andwas also boosted by the returnsfrom injury of captain JordanHenderson and striker DanielSturridge.

“It’s good news. They are veryimportant players and they didwell,” said Klopp, who revealedthat Brazilian playmaker PhilippeCoutinho could face Southamptondespite sitting out Sunday’s gamewith a hamstring complaint.

“Philippe had a very intensivesession yesterday (Saturday), butwe decided two or three days agothat we didn’t want to risk (him)for this game,” said the German.

“Now I think he’s fit. I saw himin the dressing room and he looksgood. I’ll have to talk with himtomorrow (Monday). I think he’sready for Southampton.”

MILAN, Nov 30, (Agencies):Mario Mandzukic, StefanoSturaro and Simone Zazastruck in the second half aschampions Juventus movedup to fifth place in Serie Awith a convincing 3-0 win atPalermo on Sunday.

Juventus had claimed a third con-secutive league win for the first timeonly last week and on Wednesdaybeat Manchester City for the secondtime in succession to secure passageto the last 16 of the ChampionsLeague.

Those wins confirmed MassimilianoAllegri’s men, who sat only four pointsabove the relegation zone six weeks ago,had finally turned the corner after a dis-astrous start to their title defence.

Allegri admitted it had been a “goodNovember” as Juventus closed to withinsix points of leaders Inter Milan and fourbehind second-placed Napoli.

But he played down suggestions he ishoping Monday’s top-of-the-table clashbetween the pair at Napoli’s San Paolostadium finishes a draw.

“It’s never to beat Palermo away, butthat’s us winning our second successiveaway game and we’re in the last 16 of theChampions League. We’re getting bet-ter,” Allegri told Mediaset.

“I’m not hoping for anything (fromthe Napoli v Inter game). All we’refocusing on is fighting our way back upthe table.”

After Juve had shaded a balanced firsthalf at the Renzo Barbera stadium,Mandzukic broke the deadlock when herose above Aljaz Struna to head PauloDybala’s curling delivery past a beatenStefano Sorrentino on 54 minutes.

Palermo coach Davide Ballardini saidMandzukic’s opener took the wind outtheir sails.

“For nearly an hour we played great.But after Juve’s goal we took the foot offthe gas a little and made it hard on our-selves,” said Ballardini.

It was a joyous return for Argentinastriker Dybala, who quit Palermo last sea-son ahead of a 32 million euros move tothe Turin giants, and in the second half he

Vasco’s win takes relegation battle to last day

Racing draw first blood in Copa playoff finalBUENOS AIRES, Nov 30, (RTRS):Racing Club beat Independiente 2-0 inthe first leg of the Libertadores Cup play-off final on Sunday, earning their firstwin at the Libertadores de Americaground in 11 years.

Striker Gustavo Bou opened the scor-ing against the run of play in the 37thminute when he controlled a long clear-ance out of the Racing half, weaved pasttwo defenders and beat goalkeeper DiegoRodriguez.

Racing, playing without suspendedcaptain Diego Milito, doubled their leadfour minutes later when midfielder OscarRomero swivelled in the box to bury ashot inside the bottom corner past thediving Rodriguez.

“I wanted to know what it feels like tosilence a crowd as a visitor because ithadn’t happened to me. I had faith I coulddo it and I did at a very tough ground,”Bou told reporters.

Milito watched from the sidelines serv-ing a one-match suspension after beingsent off for dissent at the end of Racing’s2-1 win over Estudiantes in the playoffsemifinals.

The clash between the rivals in theBuenos Aires suburb of Avellaneda,where their grounds are only 300 metresapart, is one of the hottest in Argentina.

The teams will meet again at Racing’sCilindro next Sunday in the second leg.

❑ ❑ ❑

A flooded stadium forced Vasco daGama players to take the long way to thepitch through a cheering crowd of fans onSunday but that merely inspired them to a1-0 win that kept their hopes of avoidingrelegation alive until the final day of theseason.

Kick off for the penultimate game ofthe season against Santos was delayed anhour after torrential rain fell in Rio deJaneiro, leaving the pitch waterloggedand the dressing rooms under water.

The water left the tunnel to the pitchunpassable and the Vasco players wereforced to take the back route via the ter-racing where hundreds of fans descendedto cheer the players onto the field.

The surface was eventually given theokay and former Paris St. Germain for-ward Nene got the winner in the 44thminute of the first half.

However, five of the six sides fighting

to avoid the three remaining relegationspots won their matches at the weekend,making Vasco’s battle to avoid a secondrelegation in three years all the more dif-ficult.

Goias won 3-1 at Chapecoense andCoritiba defeated Palmeiras 2-0 in SaoPaulo.

The results mean that Goias have 38points and Vasco and Figueirense have40. Avai, who beat Ponte Preta 1-0 onSaturday, have 41 and Coritiba have 43.

Vasco meet Coritiba next week andmust win and hope Figueirense and Avaiboth lose. Joinville are already down.

❑ ❑ ❑

The strike called by Ecuadorean soc-cer players over unpaid salaries turnedout to be a damp squib although it playeda part in the relegation of DeportivoQuito, one of the country’s leadingteams.

Deportivo, who won the fifth of theirleague titles in 2011, turned out with amix of professionals and juniors at Ligade Loja and lost 1-0 on Sunday.

With three matches to go, they can nolonger be saved from relegation after 36years in the first division.

The Ecuadorean Footballers’Association (AFE) called a strike onThursday over a $20 million backlog inplayers’ salaries at 18 of the 24 teams inSeries A and B.

The national governing body FEFresponded that the full weekend pro-gramme would go ahead as scheduledand most teams adhered to its decision.

sent a header wide of Sorrentino’supright.

But more was to come from the visi-tors, who put the match beyond all reacha minute from the final whistle whenSturaro ran on to Paul Pogba’s perfectly-weighted ball on the edge of the area tosweep it past Sorrentino.

Allegri had replaced Dybala with Zazaminutes earlier and when the strikerfound himself on a two-on-one alongsideAlvaro Morata, he collected theSpaniard’s return to feint past AndreaRispoli and beat Sorrentino down low at

his near post in added-on time.Juventus moved up one place to fifth,

one point ahead of AC Milan and are alsojust three behind their biggest title rivalsfrom the past two years, Roma, who suf-fered a shock 2-0 home defeat toAtalanta.

Olympique de Marseille snatched a 3-3 draw at home to AS Monaco in a Ligue1 thriller on Sunday while surprise pack-age Caen climbed to second by thumpingGirondins Bordeaux 4-1 away.

Marseille’s Georges-Kevin Nkoudougrabbed an 82nd minute equaliser

when he arrived late to fire homeLucas Ocampos’s mis-hit strike after aroller coaster match full of poordefending.

Caen took the lead against Bordeauxthrough Syam Ben Youssef in the sixthminute before second-half efforts fromDamien Da Silva, a Cedric Carrasso owngoal and Andy Delort.

Ahead of the Marseille game, the fanspaid tribute to the victims of the attackson Paris by Islamist militants on Nov 13which killed 130 people and left morethan 350 injured.

Pumas’ Eduardo Herrera (right),fights for the ball with Veracruz’sLeobardo Lopez during a Mexicansoccer league match in Mexico City

on Nov 29. (AP)

Pentathlete Kukarin dead:Russian pentathlete Alexander Kukarinhas died suddenly at the age of 22, thepress service of the country’s pen-tathlon federation reported Monday.

“Kukarin’s death took place in oneof Moscow’s hotels,” the report said.

“The investigation of the case isgoing under way. The cause of hisdeath is currently being determined.”

A resident of Saint Petersburg,Kukarin won the men’s relay silvermedal at this year’s world champi-onships in Berlin. (AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Nuno Espirito Santo resigns:Valencia coach Nuno Espirito Santohas ended his 17-month spell in chargeof the club by resigning, he confirmedon Sunday.

“It has been an honour to be thecoach of Valencia,” he said after a 1-0defeat to Sevilla. “Tomorrow with thepresident and the owners there will bea meeting to clear the future.”

Los Che’s defeat at the SanchezPizjuan was their eighth in 20 gamesthis season.

The Portuguese coach had spear-headed a return to the ChampionsLeague for the first time in three yearslast season under an ambitious projectfinanced by Singaporean club ownerPeter Lim. (AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Barca file complaint: Barcelonahave filed a formal complaint againsttwo former Real Madrid playersturned pundits after they suggestedBarca forward Neymar deserved thekick he received from Real midfielderIsco in this month’s La Liga ‘Clasico’.

Isco, who had come on as a substi-tute 10 minutes into the second half ofBarca’s 4-0 win at the Bernabeu,lashed out in apparent frustration atNeymar in the 85th minute and wasshown a straight red card.

According to Barca, former Realplayers Manolo Sanchis and PoliRincon “publically and repeatedly jus-tified the aggression” on Spanish radioand the club said on Monday they hadfiled a complaint with a Spanish gov-ernment commission that seeks tocombat violence in sport. (RTRS)

Best of the RestArgentine overwhelming favourite

Messi, Ronaldo & Neymar are Ballon d’Or nomineesLONDON, Nov 30, (RTRS): LionelMessi and Cristiano Ronaldo will gohead-to-head once again for the title ofworld’s best footballer after beingshort-listed along with Neymar onMonday for the 2015 FIFA Ballond’Or.

For the seventh time in eight years,the dynamic duo of Barcelona’s Messiand Real Madrid’s Ronaldo are expectedto fill the top two places on the podiumin Zurich in January for the covetedaccolade of being the year’s leadingplayer.

Even before the award was mergedwith France Football’s Ballon d’Or in2010, the men’s World Player of the Yearhad effectively become an annual private‘Clasico’ between two of the great play-ers of any generation.

Argentine Messi, who will now havebeen on the podium for an amazing ninesuccessive years, won four times in suc-cession between 2009 and 2012, whilePortugal’s Ronaldo has won three times,once when he was at Manchester Unitedin 2008 and the most recent two editionsat Real Madrid.

The only time in the last seven yearswhen they did not finish one-two was in2010 when the Barcelona trio of Messi,Andres Iniesta and Xavi swept the podi-um.

Messi is an overwhelming favourite tolift the trophy again for a fifth time after acalendar year in which, despite losing twomonths to injury, he has still scored 48

goals while inspiring Barca to a ChampionsLeague/La Liga/King’s Cup treble.

Ronaldo, too, has 48 to his name for cluband country in 2015 but Real’s fortunes haveslumped and his protests on the chat showbeat that he is still the number one have heldjust a little less conviction than usual.

Yet on his present scintillating form,Brazilian Neymar, Messi’s partner in

destruction along with Luis Suarez atBarca, has a claim on being the equal ofeither of them.

The Ballon d’Or vote has been madeby national team coaches and captainsand leading journalists, with the winnerbeing announced at a ceremony in Zurichon Jan 11.

Luis Enrique, who coaches Messi andNeymar at Barcelona, heads the shortlistfor the coach of year award, along withBayern Munich’s Pep Guardiola andChile coach Jorge Sampaoli.

Guardiola’s inclusion was possibly asurprise as Bayern Munich’s only trophylast season was the Bundesliga — thevery minimum that would have beenexpected of them — although his team’sform this term has been magnificent.

Sampaoli, an Argentine, was includedafter leading Chile to their first-ever CopaAmerica title, which they won at homeafter beating Argentina on penalties in thefinal.

A combination of three file photographs created on Nov 30 shows (left to right)Neymar, Ronaldo and Messi celebrating. (AFP)

SOCCER

SOCCER

SOCCER

Prince Ali

SOCCER