By noreply@blogger.com (Vox Rep) on Jul 27, 2014 01:39 pm
Orlando Pirates were crowned Carling Black Label Cup champions after they defeated staunch rivals Kaizer Chiefs 6-5 on penalties after the match ended goalless at the FNB Stadium on Saturday. Click here for a free insurance quote. After 90 minutes of play, the match went straight into an enthralling penalty shootout. It was midfielder Thabo Matlaba's spot kick that clinched victory for the Buccaneers after the teams took 18 nail-biting penalty kicks. Pirates have the edge over their Soweto neighbours in the cup competition, having won three of the four cup games. During the match, Chiefs' midfielder George Maluleka missed a penalty in the 66th minute after it was rightfully awarded by referee Victor Gomes. This was after Pirates defender Rooi Mahamutsa fouled winger George Lebese in the penalty box. With the 90,000-seater stadium packed to capacity with an expectant crowd, the stage was set for the players to deliver an exciting contest, which however ended goalless. It was the fourth edition of the pre-season cup concept which allows fans to vote for their preferred starting teams. In the cup's first year in 2011, Pirates were victorious with a 5-4 penalty win after a goalless draw. They retained the title the following year, winning 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Chiefs hoisted the trophy for the first time last year after a 1-0 win courtesy of a goal from mercurial striker Lehlohonolo Majoro, who has since joined Pirates and started the match against his former teammates. Majoro had a futile spell in front of goal as his every touch of the ball was thwarted by Tefu Mashamaite and Eric Mathoho in the Chiefs central defence. It was initially thought that Majoro would provide his new employers with an advantage against his former side. Chiefs, likewise, had a new striker in Katlego Mphela spearheading the attack. However, the former Mamelodi Sundowns' sharpshooter had a torrid match and never looked like threatening the goal. Both Majoro and Mphela were eventually substituted by Lennox Bacela and Josta Dladla respectively before the half-hour mark. It was evident from the repetitive flow of the game both teams had yet to hit their stride after the off-season. The match, in many ways, failed to live up to expectations and the players looked lethargic and unfit at times. For the coaches the match may perhaps have been a preparation game for the new season, but for the fans it was a fierce duel where pride and honour were at stake. Both sides had a number of forced substitutions after some players picked up injuries. With the new season set to begin next week, both clubs have a lot of work to do before both their campaigns kick off. Chiefs and Pirates begin their campaigns against Mpumalanga Black Aces and SuperSport United respectively in the MTN8 next week. – Sapa Source:iol.co.za
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By noreply@blogger.com (Vox Rep) on Jul 27, 2014 12:30 pm
Mashaba began his job as the new Bafana Bafana coach with an apology to his boss, but Danny Jordaan will know only too well he has not appointed a sycophantic “yes man”. Click here how to save on insurance quotes “I’m very sorry Mr President,” Mashaba said to Jordaan after having asked the Safa chief honcho who he was in a phone call. Currently in west Africa with the national Under-20 side, coach Mashaba was rung by Safa chief executive Dennis Mumble so he could give a telephonic reaction to returning to the post he held from 2002 to 2004. But when Mumble gave the phone to Jordaan, Shakes responded: “Hallo, I’m speaking to?” Mashaba’s apology, upon hearing that it was Jordaan, was swift and sincere, just like his promise that “we won’t disappoint our people and we will do our best to do the country proud”. Chosen by the Safa national executive committee ahead of the highly punted Carlos Queiroz with whom he was recommended by the Safa technical committee, Mashaba is renowned for being his own man, a trait that actually cost him the selfsame job last time around. Yet in bringing him back into the job, Safa have acknowledged the man’s ability to produce results at all levels – his penchant for not kow-towing to power notwithstanding. Jordaan confirmed this: “He has a proven record, is a hard worker and he fulfilled all requirements we were looking for to drive our senior national team back to where we all believe they belong – at the top.” Mashaba has previously qualified Bafana for the Africa Cup of Nations (2004) but lost his job after declining to choose the squad his bosses wanted for a high-profile friendly against England. Before his first full-time tenure at Bafana, he held the position in a number of caretaker capacity roles and did very well. In his 19 matches, he never lost an official match, his two defeats coming in a minor, friendly tournament. He took the national Under-20 side to the World Youth Championships in 1997 after leading them to a runners-up position at the African tournament. He remains the only coach to have taken South Africa to the Olympics (Sydney 2000) soccer tournament for Under-23 sides. “I’m thrilled with the honour you bestow
ed on me,” Mashaba said.
“I’ll pull out all stops to ensure our people feel part of the national team and the only way is to bring good results.” While he will continue coaching the Under-20s until after the African Youth Championship qualifying tie with Cameroon, Mashaba faces a tough schedule of Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with back-to-back clashes against Sudan and Nigeria in the first week of September. Yet, unlike previous coaches, Safa have decided to look long term and are not hardbent on qualifying for next year’s continental tournament in Morocco but have their eyes set on seeing Bafana making it to the 2018 World Cup in Russia as part of the association’s Vision 2022 programme. They seem to have chosen just the right man for the task! Sunday Independent Source: iol.co.za
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By noreply@blogger.com (Vox Rep) on Jul 26, 2014 01:55 pm
An investigation into the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar and the 2018 tournament to Russia, initially scheduled for completion this month, is only likely to be finished in September, FIFA said. Click here for free car, home or biz insurance quotes "We expect to deliver our report to the adjudicatory chamber by the first week of September 2014," said a statement issued by FIFA this week on behalf of its ethics committee. Former United States attorney, Michael Garcia, has been leading an internal probe by FIFA's ethics committee into allegations of corruption in the run-up to the vote in December 2010, which awarded the 2022 tournament to Qatar. Garcia, who began his investigation 18 months ago, had said in June that he expected to deliver his report by around the end of this month. When complete, Garcia's report will be handed to German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, head of the ethics committee's adjudicatory chamber, and if he finds corruption, Qatar could face a challenge to its position as host either through a re-vote or other processes. Shortly before the World Cup in Brazil, Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported that some of the "millions of documents" it had seen linked payments by former FIFA executive committee member Mohamed Bin Hammam to officials to win backing for Qatar's World Cup bid. Qatar has denied all allegations of corruption. FIFA have however come out and said that they are committed to the 2018 Soccer World Cup in Russia following MH17 disaster. Reuters
Source: sport24.co.za
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By noreply@blogger.com (Vox Rep) on Jul 25, 2014 04:29 pm
Johannesburg – Kaizer Chiefs hope the Carling Black Label Cup will produce a high-scoring match at the FNB Stadium on Saturday. Click here for free insurance quotes, car, home or biz. “From my position as the goalkeeper, I would like to see a high-scoring game as long as I am not the one conceding those goals,” said Chiefs' captain Itumeleng Khune. The tournament, in its fourth year, has produced just three goals in as many matches. In the inaugural edition in 2011, Pirates won 4-3 on penalties after a goalless draw. The following year, the Buccaneers retained the title after a 5-4 penalty shootout when the match ended 1-1. In 2013, Chiefs broke their duck, winning 1-0. Chiefs' coach Stuart Baxter, who guided them to the first title, said players would have to dig deeper in their pursuit of silverware this season. “Last season we did a lot of great things, but you can't call it a great season because we didn't win anything,” he said. “The difference is five percent, maybe even less, but we have to find that difference. I told the players not to get frustrated, but to get better.” The Amakhosi are looking for a pre-season boost with a victory over neighbours Pirates in the Cup. “It's important because you want to win a derby and we need a bit of impetus ahead of the season,” said Baxter. “You see a spring in the players' step during training. The pace picks up a little because we know it's more than a friendly game. It's a derby game.” Buccaneers' coach Vladimir Vermezovic said he expected goal contributions from the entire squad, not only from his striking department. “I would like to see all Pirates' players score this season, it should not only be up to the strikers. We need to have strength in the box and work hard on set-pieces as well. “I hope this coming season will be better than our previous seasons in terms of scoring.” Last year, Chiefs claimed the victory courtesy of a solitary strike from Lehlohonolo Majoro, who has since joined Pirates. Majoro said he did not feel any extraordinary pressure now that he was in the Bucs' uniform. “All I have to do is try to integrate with my new team-mates,” Majoro said. “I'll take instructions from the coach and follow his orders. We have been working hard and we are looking to the season ahead.” The starting teams, as selected by the fans, were confirmed midweek. Chiefs: Itumeleng Khune, Siboniso Gaxa, Eric Mathoho, Tefu Mashamaite, Tsepo Masilela, George Lebese, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, George Maluleka, Willard Katsande, Kingston Nkhatha, Katlego Mphela. Pirates: Senzo Meyiwa, Rooi Mahamutsa, Happy Jele, Siyabonga Sangweni, Thabo Matlaba, Tlou Segolela, Sifiso Myeni, Oupa Manyisa, Daine Klate, Kermit Erasmus, Lehlohonolo Majoro. – Sapa Source : iol.co.za
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By noreply@blogger.com (Vox Rep) on Jul 24, 2014 08:45 am
Carlos Dunga, rehired to coach Brazil’s soccer team following its record-breaking World Cup exit, invoked former South African President Nelson Mandela and said it’s time for Brazilians to acknowledge their team is no longer the best. ******
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Dunga, 50, is the successor to Luiz Felipe Scolari, the coach whose squad had the worst defeat in Brazil national team history when it was thrashed 7-1 by eventual champion Germany earlier this month in the World Cup semifinals.
That defeat at Belo Horizonte’s Estadio Mineiro ended Brazil’s push for a record-extending sixth title and led to nationwide criticism following comments by Scolari and federation president Jose Maria Marin that anything but victory would be considered a failure. The choice of Dunga, who coached Brazil to a quarterfinal exit at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, was controversial -- with one online poll showing as many as 80 percent of respondents didn’t want him to return.
“Nelson Mandela had everyone against him and without firing a gun he changed the way people thought about him,” Dunga said. “I will have to find my energy from the 20 percent in favor and earn confidence and trust of others.”
Dunga has been a familiar face in Brazilian soccer for decades, captaining the 1994 national team that secured Brazil’s fourth World Cup title when the tournament was staged in the U.S. He was hired to coach the national team in 2006 even though he had no previous experience.
His teams won 42 and lost six of the 60 games he oversaw, but Dunga was unpopular with domestic media -- notably the powerful Globo network that owns the rights to national team games -- after cutting access to the team. Former players criticized his team’s physical and direct approach.
Dunga acknowledged he needs to make more of an effort to build rapport with the media during his second stint as coach, saying he was too focused on results on the field.
“I have to improve my relationship with press,” he said yesterday in a news conference at the Brazil soccer federation’s Rio de Janeiro headquarters. “I think that’s my fault. That’s what I’ve reflected upon over last years.”
Brazil entered the World Cup as favorite to win, and left with several unenviable records, including those for the biggest defeat by a World Cup host and the national team’s first home loss in a competitive game since 1975. Scolari said the team would win it all, and Marin said “we’ll all go to hell” if Brazil didn’t take the trophy. Dunga said such comments shouldn’t have been made, and that Brazilian soccer isn’t as good as the nation thinks.
“We can’t tell Brazilian people we are going to win the World Cup even before it starts,” he said. “We should stop thinking about being the best, that we have the best footballers. When your opponents look you in the eye and know you are not doing it they will overcome you, they will steal your ball.”
The team struggled to the semifinals with victories against Chile and Colombia before being overwhelmed by Germany, which scored five goals in an 18-minute period of the first half and led 7-0 before conceding a last-minute goal. Dunga, whose contract runs through the 2018 World Cup, said Germany offers a template to the future.
“I was also very fond of planning and organization of Germany,” he said. “We are going to find our new path amongst that. We should be adding Brazil’s personality with that kind of planning.”
Source : bloomberg.com
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By noreply@blogger.com (Vox Rep) on Jul 23, 2014 05:02 pm
Cape Town - After spending three years with the club he grew up at, Cesc Fabregas believes he has made the right move at this stage of his career. **** Click here for free insurance quotes **** Although former club Arsenal had an option to re-sign their former captain, Cesc Fabregas wanted to make the switch to Chelsea and his excited to start training with his new English Premiership teammates. According to Teamtalk.com, the Spanish international's head was turned when he was offered the chance to join, a Jose Mourinho led, Chelsea. Fabregas, who's fortunes in Spain turned sour, was keen to sort out his future before going to the World Cup in Brazil and felt it was time to move on. "It was very important for me that the deal was done before the World Cup,” Fabregas declared. "I thought I was at the right age and I believed I wanted a change. I looked at all the offers I had and after speaking to the coach, I thought Chelsea was the best decision." Fabregas, a former English Premiership star with Arsenal, praised Mourinho's tactical prowess and is confident his new manager will get the best out of him. Fabregas will join Spanish teammate Diego Costa, after the striker joined from Atletico Madrid in the English summer. Fabregas is excited to work with Costa and believes that the forward will be a hit in England. “He is a real threat in every single game. Last season he was playing every three days and he was consistently giving really strong performances. "He goes behind the defence and he makes the kind of runs players like me really like because it gives you an option to play the killer ball. I think he will do superbly here.” said Chelsea's new midfield general. Source : sport24.co.za
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By noreply@blogger.com (Vox Rep) on Jul 23, 2014 11:40 am
London - It is premature to talk about stripping Russia of the right to host the 2018 World Cup because of political tensions over Ukraine, English FA chairman Greg Dyke said on Tuesday. *****
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**** “I don't think that you can make a decision based on one week's events without looking at the longer term,” Dyke told lawmakers in a hearing at the British parliament. Dyke had been asked whether Russia was an appropriate World Cup host following the downing of a passenger plane over Ukraine last week which Western nations have blamed on separatists backed by Moscow. Dyke also said that the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar should be re-examined if an investigation by American lawyer Michael Garcia finds wrongdoing. “If Mr Garcia shows that there have been corrupt activities, the whole thing should be reconsidered,” he said. Garcia, who has been leading a Fifa ethics committee investigation into allegations of corruption surrounding the award of the 2022 World Cup to the Gulf state, will submit his report in September. Dyke said he was convinced that the tournament would not be held in June or July if it was played in Qatar because of the intense heat, with a move to a cooler time of the year a certainty. He also said that Fifa President Sepp Blatter would be re-elected if he stands again next year despite corruption allegations surrounding world soccer's governing body. Blatter has been head of Fifa since 1998.
Reuters Source: iol.co.za
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